I wish so much that Recovery Talks were a comprehensive video blog because I want to be able to display physically what this quote brings to my mind. Bear with me as I attempt to do it in written form…

Imagine that you have a lit firecracker in your hand, that is the struggle you are facing. Now you have some choices as to what you do with that firecracker. You can close your hand and hold on to the firecracker but this will ultimately cause you severe harm. You can leave your hand palm up and allow the firecracker to burn you when it goes off. Or you can turn your hand over completely releasing the firecracker to the ground.

This is what I see in this quote, when we are struggling we can hold tight to the negativity and the struggle but potentially cause greater harm. Or we can let go of the struggle while still having our hands on the situation. This may cause less harm but it doesn’t free us from the risk of harm. Or we can truly surrender the struggle, maintain a hands off approach and invite peace into the space left once we’ve surrendered.

This last option is the hardest because the temptation is there to pick up the struggle/firecracker all over again but we can’t have peace and struggle in the same hand. Surrendering the struggle and allowing the firecracker to fall to the ground doesn’t mean it’s gone but it does mean we can walk in peace without harm while the struggle happens outside of us.

Is it time you surrendered the firecracker for peace or will you get burned? Find peace within the struggle. It’s there and it’s waiting!

Sarah Deats

Sarah Deats is a Behavioral Health Technician at RI International and the Hope Inc. Stories Inspiration Engineer.