The Wisdom in Surrender

When you surrender to life's flow rather than resist it, you discover that every change, however uncomfortable, comes bearing gifts of transformation.

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Transcript

The ancient Yogis teach that everything in life unfolds exactly as it's supposed to. Every experience arrives because it serves our highest growth. To learn, to reflect, to redirect. The universe speaks through change. It invites us to pay attention to the signs and surrender to its guidance.

Jane Siberry, acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter of the 1980s and 90s, had achieved what many artists dream of. Critical success, a devoted fan base, and a respected record label. Then, in 2006, she shocked her followers by legally changing her name to Issa. She gave away her possessions, and completely abandoned the traditional music business model.

"I was carrying too much stuff," Siberry told The Globe and Mail in a 2006 interview. "I felt like I was in a canoe with too many supplies, and I was sinking."

Initially, the transformation was painful and confusing even to Siberry herself. It was tough. Her change alarmed many fans. She had built a career and identity as Jane Siberry for decades. Walking away from that security represented everything she feared.

"It felt like I was jumping off a cliff," she later told CBC Radio. She resisted the inner pull toward radical change for over a year before surrendering to it.

That surrender led her to pioneer one of music's first "pay what you can" models, releasing her music directly to fans. She let go. She traveled with just a backpack, sometimes performing in living rooms where strangers became friends. No stage lights. No middlemen. She simplified everything from her possessions to her artistic name. The burden lifted. Her spirit soared with this new freedom.

What seemed like career suicide became a pioneering model later adopted by artists like Radiohead. Her stripped-down approach reconnected her with the creative source that had become obscured by business concerns. By 2016, she reclaimed her original name but kept the lessons of simplicity and directness.

"I had to lose Jane to find her again," she reflected in a 2017 interview with NOW Magazine.

As the Yogis teach. When you surrender to life's flow rather than resist it, you discover that every change, however uncomfortable, comes bearing gifts of transformation.