The Surrender Story...
- Anna
- May 20, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: May 25, 2023

Bear with me, I want to tell you something about surrender…
Oh, I know how that sounds, but I’m not trying to be a drama queen. It’s just that I’ve been told by various sources that I need to stop trying to fix everything! That I need to surrender to what’s going on because I’m not solely responsible for the wellbeing of all the things, people, and animals around me. Apparently, if I accept what’s happening, then like a miracle, everything will be well. Really? Okay, I decided to give it a go.
Since last we met, hormones and histrionics escalated in the pigpen as Maxi and Minnie had another hormonally fuelled fight and Minnie, as usual, came off worst. This time with a bite through the right ear leaving a weeping gash which, in an unseasonably hot April, provided a magnet for flies.
I surrendered to the fact my shoulders were permanently raised up past my ears as tension took over, while I endeavoured to tend to this splendid beast. Her ensuing fever required a visit from the vet. Anti-inflammatories made a difference, though my attempts to entice her into eating food laced with antibiotics failed miserably. Could I heal her by sheer force of will? Could I call upon the invisible powers of the Universe to heal her - I tried! I tried everything. No surrendering going on here.
In reality Minnie was in torment with her ear aching, oozing and luring the flies who laid their eggs, quickly causing the maggots to consume parts of her earlobe. The only good thing about them is how they keep a wound clean and, with the medication I sprayed on, they dwindled and died, leaving me free to work on healing this unsightly mess.
Bear with me, as I admit that the healing process feels as though it’s taken forever. At night I fell into bed exhausted but encouraged that the offending ear looked less like a hamburger. Each morning I jumped out of bed on full alert, gripping life by the fingertips and bracing myself against the forthcoming day. I would disappear to the pig pen only to find Minnie’s ear was raw, bleeding and tattered, so I surrendered to starting again.

Congratulations on lessons learned and pigs healing. It was so helpful to read the specifics that you surrendered to - that brought the idea of surrender from a lofty concept down to earth and gave me some new ways of thinking of my own areas where I could surrender.