Surrender, Sardinia, and Steak: When Letting Go Unleashes the Magic ✨
By surrendering to this intelligence, we open ourselves to greater possibilities and allow life to guide us toward our highest potential.
Hey y’all,
Life lately has been about recharging my batteries, soaking up inspiration, and giving myself space to identify current gaps. As I reflect on Q3, I'm back with several updates on this journey of healing. It all started with that "Ulysses Contract" I mentioned in my last newsletter. Remember? It was a framework I found for identifying a need to be proactive, set intentions, and avoid falling back into old habits. It turned out to be more powerful than I anticipated.
Committing to self-awareness and intentionality has provided a foundation for a truly transformative experience. I’ve been forced to get real about my patterns, my desires, and the kind of community I want to cultivate. This journey wasn't just about escaping old habits; it was about confronting them head-on and making conscious choices to align with my truest self.
What began as a quest for a simple reset evolved into a profound exploration of letting go, trusting the flow, and embracing the unknown with a beautiful Sardinian backdrop.
The Books That Guided My Journey
Before I get into my personal story, let me introduce you to the literary trio that rocked my world and set the stage for my escapades:
The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer: This book is a game changer. Singer shares his journey of surrendering to the flow of life and trusting that a higher intelligence is at play. It's about letting go of control and embracing the unknown with open arms.
Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud: This book is about pruning—cutting away the things in your life that are holding you back, even if they're good, to make room for the best. It's about recognizing that endings are essential for growth, and he provides practical advice and strategies for how to end relationships, jobs, and other situations that are holding us back.
Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés: This book dives deep into the archetypes of the feminine psyche and encourages us to reclaim our instinctual wisdom and untamed spirit.
The Surrender Experiment has brought adventure into scope. Women Who Run with Wolves has given space for grief. Necessary Endings has extended a line for truth. Over the following few newsletters, I’ll unpack each book more and the perspective shift. For this one, we’ll focus on The Surrender Experiment.
Surrendering: Submitting to life’s intelligence
Singer proposes that instead of constantly trying to control our lives and make things go our way, we can surrender to the present moment and allow life to unfold as it will. This doesn't mean being passive but instead letting go of our resistance to what is happening and trusting that there is a higher intelligence at work (for me, that higher intelligence is God).
Singer suggests that an underlying intelligence orchestrates our lives. By surrendering to this intelligence, we open ourselves to greater possibilities and allow life to guide us toward our highest potential.
From this book, I now live by a quote: “Personal preference can’t guide your life.” Singer mentions this as one of the first things he realized as he was starting to go inward; that much of his inner thoughts were about the things he preferred versus what was actually occurring externally. This can take on several meanings depending on the situation, but it became most applicable to me in the need to still take action even when my current emotion/situation desires otherwise. A simple example would be going to the gym even though I am exhausted and unmotivated.
Connecting the dots:
Now, how does all of this tie into my Sardinian adventure? Well, it's all about surrender, letting go, and trusting the flow of life.
I took two weeks off work and knew I wanted to start my ‘reset’ in Milan, where I could enjoy some much-needed retail therapy and pasta. Being aware from a place can help you see it a bit more clearly. But as my time in Milan ended, I found myself at a crossroads. Where to next? I had to be checked out by the morning but didn’t know where to go.
At the time, I was in the middle of reading ‘The Surrender Experiment,' and I thought, since I had no set itinerary, why not make an experiment of my own? On my hotel floor, I sat on the floor to meditate, and after some time, I felt a pull towards Sardinia. I found it ironic that a place I had never heard of three weeks prior had somehow been mentioned several times. I bought my flight and went to sleep.
Now picture this: I land in Sardinia with no itinerary, no hotel reservation, just a prayer of surrender and a request to God that while I’m on the island, I can enjoy a good steak and be on a boat. After about 45 minutes, I had my bearings together, rented a car, and started driving, trusting that the path would reveal itself.
Within hours, I found myself sharing a meal with a woman I'd met once and only exchanged a few words with at a work event. I remembered in her introduction that she mentioned she was from Sardinia, so when I bought my plane ticket, I reached out for recommendations. It just so happened that we both would be in Sardinia simultaneously.
She invited me to dinner, and at first, I was completely apprehensive. I was tired, had my mind set on ordering pizza, and I didn’t know her, so the idea of having a conversation exhausted me even more. But then I remembered I was in the midst of an experiment and said to myself, “Personal preference can’t guide your life. What’s the chance of you being hungry and then getting invited to dinner by a local?”
I got dressed and drove to the restaurant, where a pleasant surprise awaited me. We connected instantly, sharing so much of our lives, and by the time dinner was over, she invited me to join her family on their boat the next day. And guess what? This all happened as we dined over steaks... on a salt block. At that moment, I knew God was with me and trying to show the ease that can come in surrendering. I could only laugh.
The next day, from sun up to sun down, we talked about everything while on the water. I hadn’t felt that seen by someone I had known for less than 24 hours, and in an eerie way, it felt like I was communicating with my future self. As the sunset, I remember sitting in awe at where this simple surrender experiment had taken me in just a short period.
I spent a few more days in Sardinia, and once I touched down stateside, everything about that trip felt like a metaphor for the journey itself. It was about letting go of the need to steer, to control the waves, and instead, allowing myself to be carried by the current to a beautiful island.
So, what can you take away from all of this?
Think about when you clung tightly to your "personal preferences," only to be frustrated or disappointed when things didn't go your way. What if, instead of resisting, you surrendered to the flow?
Maybe it's that nagging feeling that you're meant for something more, but fear is holding you back. Perhaps it's a relationship that's no longer serving you, but you're afraid to let go. Maybe it's a yearning for adventure, but your comfort zone keeps you tethered.
What would it look like for you to surrender? To trust that the universe has a plan, even if you can't see the whole picture right now?
I leave you with this:
Surrender to the flow: Let go of your need to control and trust that life is unfolding as it should.
Embrace your inner wildness: Listen to your intuition, follow your instincts, and take a chance on the unknown.
Challenge your preferences: Don't let your preconceived notions dictate your experiences. Be open to the unexpected; you might be surprised by the magic unfolding.
Find freedom in letting go: Surrender the need to control every outcome and allow yourself to be carried by the current of life.
Trust in divine downloads: Pay attention to the synchronicities and "coincidences" in your life. They are messages from God guiding you toward your highest good.
Life is a journey, y'all. Let's navigate it with courage, wisdom, much surrender, and even more gelato.
With love always,
Jamie ✈️ 🌎
I saw this post at the perfect time. Everything about this (minus the international travel) speaks to where I am and likely where I’m headed. Thank you for sharing evidence of possibility.
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