To surrender or not to surrender?
“To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of trouble and by opposing end them?” (Act III, Scene I — Hamlet — William Shakespeare)
“To surrender or to not surrender?” has been a haunting question in me. This is also the true meaning of the famous “To be or not to be” from Hamlet of Shakespeare. In fact, Hamlet continues like this: “Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of trouble and by opposing end them?”.
Hamlet is the emblematic representation of the teenager suffering the transition to adulthood: becoming responsible and at the same time rooted in the love and sweetness that originated in one’s birth.
On one hand, I cannot control everything (and I don’t deserve that control if my love is poor), and I shouldn’t desire that control, for this is a sin of pride and division. On the other hand, I must not give up, I must be passionate about what I do, do things with all my heart and all my mind. And this implies the development of some control over my life and my environment.
At some point in my life, I was stubborn about some principles that I tended to consider as moral unbreakable rules. But I was dying, and I felt like God was telling me: “If you suffer and die, you can only blame yourself; I’ve never asked you to be too hard with yourself”.
If you suffer, sometimes, you can only blame yourself, because you refused to use the solutions at your disposal and, instead, you decided to be stupidly stubborn. The triangle shows that there is a balance between divine grace and pragmatism. That balance can be seen as the principle of least action in “pragmatic terms” or as humility and patience in spiritual terms.
Since we are meant to become perfect spiritual beings, we cannot expect God to do everything for us (we are, ourselves, hands of God!). But, at the same time, we have to completely surrender to His omniscient presence.
This is what I thought while observing a triangle in my mind. The third angle of the triangle is about finding the balance between two polarities; and, as we find that balance, the direction of life appears before us. Without that third element, the arrow disappears and there is only a boring flat figure.
Prayer is the cement that unifies the three angles of the triangle. When we hit against the harsh reality of life, our actions can still evolve into a prayer; and as we get lost in our prayers, the divine grace comes to meet us and ignite a new hope.
Be brave, relentless, but… don’t be stupid.
