Surrender
“The boat I travel in is called Surrender. My two oars are instant forgiveness and gratitude—complete gratitude for the gift of life. I am thankful for the experience of this life, for the opportunity to dance. I get angry, I get mad, but as soon as I remind myself to put my oars in the water, I forgive.”—Balbir Mathur, inwardoutward.org, Daily Quote, October 19, 2016—Heron Dance interview (Issue 11).
As president of Trees for Life, Balbir Mathur planted 200 million morning trees in developing countries for 30 years. I thank the daily words from Inward Outward from the Church of the Saviour in Washington for introducing him to me. Mathur’s extraordinary life is a story of constant surrender: immigrating to Wichita from India with no family contacts, mowing lawns, becoming world-known in business, developing a mysterious illness, leaving his business career, and starting an international nonprofit to plant trees in developing countries. The morning trees survive in dry conditions. Their leaves are nutritious in vitamins A and C and calcium, and their seeds are used to purify water.
Mathur’s words are indeed words of peace that I hear in many disciplines across all religious barriers. When I can forgive, when I am filled with gratitude, I stay out of trouble and find peace. What an image. We are in a boat called Surrender, and our two oars are gratitude and forgiveness that keep that boat moving on course. I can imagine rowing on a river, not too big of a river and not too big of a boat. I will need other passengers who can take over the oars when I become too tired, who will read to me and let me rest or just allow me to soak in the scenery.
Rick Plumlee, The Wichita Eagle, May 10, 2014.
