Weaving The Threads Of Intention, Week 2: Acceptance

The next thread we will weave into the cloth of our intentions is the thread of acceptance. Wikipedia defines acceptance from a human psychology perspective as: ... a person's assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) without attempts to change it, protest."

The other day my daughter picked me up to go grocery shopping. As I got into the car, I heard her say: "I can't stand this cold. It's ridiculous how cold it is. Why is it so cold?" I turned around and looked at her: "Because it's January in the Northeast. Were you expecting sunshine and 70 degrees? This is what winter in upstate New York feels like." She may not like the cold, but cold is the reality of living here at this time of year. Not accepting the reality of the situation doesn't make you warmer and it certainly doesn't make you happy.

While there's nothing we can do about the weather, there is a lot we can do to rid ourselves of this idea that if we don't like the reality of a situation, we will just change it. That idea belongs to the ego whose need to be right and in control is so great that it will resort to just about anything, including inducing fear, to get what it wants. When we practice acceptance, while we still may not like the situation, we can agree that it is what it is, and move on from there. We have certainly seen a great deal of this lack of acceptance in the past year surrounding the election. There are some people who refuse to accept the outcome. Others, though they may not like it, accept that someone they didn't like came out the winner and, going forward, are still devoting their time to working for the common good of all. Sure, we'll still see plenty of protesting and, unfortunately, maybe even violence because that first group is refusing to accept reality. However, when we accept what is, we can learn from it and move on to make positive changers for the future.

I would be remiss if I did not address the reality of getting older. After all, that is what I write about. No, I don't like being 67 years old from a time perspective. I've still got way to much to do and, hey, where did all those years go anyway? It felt like I was 40 or 50 just yesterday! Yes, there is still plenty I can do, one of which is to make sure I stay fit and active so I can do all those things I still want to do and enjoy my life. Refusing to accept the reality of 67 won't do that for me. Acting on the reality of it will.

By the way, how we do we deal with the reality of January in the northeast? We put on plenty of layers, keep moving, and drink lots of hot chocolate!

And so it is.