This morning at dawn I walked on Folly Beach while the sun rose pink and gold through the clouds. The gentle waves soothed and as I moved more deeply into my body pain and sorrow of recent losses rose and along with the emotions tears came too. For a moment I closed my eyes and walked straight ahead. With my eyes closed I had to trust. I knew more or less what was up ahead and for the most part there were no obstacles on the path, but moving when without seeing is an act of faith. I’m no expert in faith. In fact, I’ve found that for the most part I test what teachers tell me before I trust and believe. When what they say aligns with my inner truth, then faith moves beyond belief into knowing.

So as I walked eyes closed this morning the act resembled how I feel right now – like I do not know what’s coming or what directions will open up or close. For the first time in my life, there’s a feeling of moving forward without being able to see the way clear. In that moment with my feet in the sand and the ocean moving in, I recalled Sathya Sai Baba’s teaching about surrender. Surrender sounds like a big word. It’s almost a swear word in English because the Western mind loves the notion of control. Surrender simply means acceptance.

A dear and wise friend once told me not to worry about a situation. “There’s no need to force anything. If it’s meant to be it will be,” she said. This is a divine truth. To some it may feel that this removes free will, but we always have the ability to decide how to face challenges and how to live the experience from the inside. How we think and feel about situations can transform them into heaven or hell.

It seems that many people are feeling this uncertainty about the future. As the pace of change speeds up there’s an inherent desire to slow down and take it all in, to digest it. This is a time to “Love My uncertainty,” as Sathya Sai Baba said. His message, I believe, meant to accept and trust and be in the moment without worry about what’s to come. But this is an act of supreme surrender and acceptance. It’s a spiritual practice at a high level, one that relieves worry and anxiety. If we can trust and feel the divine presence within and all around us, this becomes as easy as a walk on the beach.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.

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