The Art of Surrender: What My Grandmother’s Blanket Taught Me About Letting Go

By Heather Garner | Ciao Bella Leadership

Surrender is a funny thing.

You know you need to do it—but how? You tell yourself, just surrender, just trust, just accept...But what does that actually mean? How do you trust when your whole body wants to control the outcome? How do you surrender when your mind keeps whispering, But what if I miss what’s meant for me?

We torture ourselves trying to solve this invisible puzzle. We ask for signs, weigh the options, analyze the risks—as if surrender is something we can calculate into a perfect 5-step plan.

But today, something simple taught me what no checklist ever could.

I reached for an afghan my grandmother crocheted for me decades ago. She’s been gone for many years now, but these two blankets she quilted—just soft bundles of yarn back then—have become sacred treasures in my life.

As I pulled one around me, I found myself talking to her. “Grandma,” I said aloud, “I bet you had no idea what a gift these would become. I bet you didn’t know they’d comfort me through heartbreak, grief, loneliness… I bet you were just passing the time.”

And that’s when it hit me.

She was just passing the time. Not chasing a legacy. Not strategizing an impact. Just being herself—quietly, tenderly, in her truth.

She didn’t know that a moment spent crocheting would one day help her granddaughter survive some of the hardest days of her life.

That’s surrender.

It’s not a grand gesture. It’s not dramatic or loud or neatly packaged. It’s simply allowing life to move through you, without having to grasp or control every thread.

Surrender is trusting that the version of you that shows up today is exactly the one that was meant to. That who you are, in this moment, is not only enough—but perfectly placed.

We evolve when we’re meant to. We fall apart when we’re meant to. We find strength, lose it, find it again. And none of it is wrong.

To surrender is to let the story unfold without needing to edit every page.

It’s reaching for a blanket that holds the energy of a woman who once held you, and realizing she didn’t need to know the outcome to create something powerful.

So don’t worry so much about the details. Don’t get lost in the fear of missing your calling.

Live. Create. Love the people in front of you. Speak to your ancestors. Hold someone’s hand. Dance when you’re tired. Cry when you need to.

Because someday—maybe long after you’re gone—a quiet moment you thought was nothing will become everything to someone else.

Surrender to that.