There's always something that can be done.

Sometimes that something is micro.

It's the smallest step in the right direction.

And sometimes that thing is macro.

It's massive action.

It's picking up and leaving when you know the time is past due.

Or it's headed towards something beautiful that's calling your name.

But every so often, the thing that must be done is the most challenging of all.

Nothing.

It's understanding the difference between motion for the sake of motion and actual progress.

As the Stoics preached and the serenity prayer states,

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.

The courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Well, sometimes understanding that something is outside the scope of your control

is both the most challenging and the most necessary.

After all, kicking and screaming won't change the weather.

Emptying every penny you have into the fountain won't make someone more honest, trustworthy, or reliable.

No, those wishes get lost in the ether, right? Cross fingers may give you hope, but they don't change the world as it currently exists.

I remember a few years ago now having a conversation with author Brani Ware

and her saying perhaps the most important

things she's discovered over the years was the power of surrender. Surrender, younger me

thought. With my tightly packed schedule and perpetually rising levels of cortisol, you've got to be kidding me.

...