Whenever you accept something, there’s a sense that secretly you wish it were otherwise. A seed of judgment always remains.
Acceptance is usually a begrudging act. It’s coming at a situation from a place of resistance. Life has pushed you so hard, for so long, you finally give in and accept the situation.
But that does very little to address why you feel triggered in the first place. Underneath the hood, things are still messy. Subconsciously, you create conditions around your acceptance. These conditions are negotiations between yourself and life. I accept as long as… Should the circumstances change, you can easily find yourself triggered again and you realize your acceptance to be paper-thin.
Acceptance is like keeping a lid on your resentment that you don’t get to have your way. The underlying mindset stays the same. Each situation you encounter in life feels like a boxing match. Life keeps throwing punches at you. Your eyes are swollen, so your outlook stays small. You’re not an active supporter of the unfolding of life, you’re a victim of it.
At best, acceptance is a begrudging bystander. While it may lead to a brief moment of relief, it’s not a far-reaching solution. Your life can be so much more.
The mere concept of acceptance points to a general mindset of resistance. Okay, I’m going to accept this one thing. But everywhere else, you still want it your way. You’re still trying to bend the world to your will. You are still swimming against the current of life.
You never need to accept life. Be a participant in it. Not accepting it is rejecting yourself.
There is room for all circumstances to be as they are. You don’t need to tackle each situation one by one and let life grind you down until you have no choice but to accept it. Participate in life, to begin with. When you participate, you’re ahead of the game. Be the container into which life can happen. Welcome whatever is wanting to express itself into the fold.
Connecting with what is makes you great. It means full participation in life. It makes you a bigger person, a presence in which all of life’s situations can happen, as they would anyway, with or without your opinions. Life happens whether you judge it or not. Let life happen and let you happen.
How much you is happening?
