Passive or Active?

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I’ve been thinking about the word Surrender, and particularly about my perception of it.
Surrender can sound very much like giving up or or giving in, carrying on with a kind of helplessness ,& what  might  often be portrayed as weakness
Over the past few years, I have been disciplining myself to this word, and to another way of saying it
”being still”,particularly in the face of chaos,  confusion, anxiety or uncertainty.
Surrendering, or being still has become part of my daily discipline, and discipline it really is.
I found it takes a tremendous amount of courage, will and faith for me to submit myself in  readiness to surrender
 
When I practice surrendering I am literally re-leasing.  I am choosing to recognise forces more powerful and more important than my own desires in that particular moment & move willingly in that river beneath the river
(Ancient term for the soul or unconscious) 

The root of the word surrender in French is: a very active verb. Rendre, to return, to restore, to give thanks! 
​When I surrender I am doing something: and crucially I am BEING something. 
I’m noticing that from the beginning of my interaction with the word surrender, literally upon which my survival depended , my understanding  & appreciation of this word has evolved.I am now aware  how
​surrendering and being still brings my self into full presence in the now.  This is having quite an impact on my inner state, in relationships with whom I interact, and in my work life. Through apprenticing myself to this word, I am learning to Be Here Now, or at least as much as I possibly and humanly can
I am very grateful for this powerful lesson that now is all there is, not the next moment or tomorrow
Right now right here  
I’m here.
 
I believe it was Thoreau  who said: “Strive for being, all else will follow” 
in my experience there’s not much that is very passive about that!

What words have impact in your life?