Surrender

I surrender.  The bears won.  I know those cubs were cute, and I know that Mama Bear was just doing what she had to do to care for her babies.  But they returned under cover of darkness to destroy, once and for all, my birdfeeder.

So that's the end of that.  I cannot continue feeding the birds as it would encourage the bears to return day after day for their free lunch.  The birds were noticeably distressed today, flying into the windows as if asking me for more birdseed.  I have to trust that they, both the bears and the birds (and the squirrels) will, in time, find other sources of food.

Surrender.  Is it giving up?  In a sense it is.  But "giving up" sounds so negative.  Maybe surrender is just another word for acceptance.  If I travel backwards on this journey of mine, I see that I have surrendered many times.  Certainly, I've surrendered to the wisdom of the Universe when people I loved were taken away.  But I have also surrendered to great love, most notably at the births of my children, when I learned at first sight that I would give my right arm and more to protect these persons that I presented to the world.

I have surrendered to aging, and I have tried to do it gracefully.  I have surrendered to free will, understanding that it is up to me to make wise decisions.  I have surrendered to heartache, knowing that it is the price of having loved.

I have surrendered to late blight and grubs and Japanese beetles.  I have surrendered to the changing seasons.  I have surrendered to ice storms and the blazing sun and evening breezes.

I have surrendered to wine and I have surrendered to gelato.  I have surrendered to dust and cobwebs.  I have surrendered to dreams.

In two days, I will surrender this blog.  But I will trust that I (and my readers) will find other sources of reflection and contemplation and maybe inspiration.  We are all birds, hungry for something, but willing to surrender habit for change when it's time to do so.

It's time.