On Acceptance

For me, the wisdom to know what is and what is not acceptable has been one of my greatest challenges. I cannot force solutions. I can speak up for myself. I can have boundaries. There IS unacceptable behavior.

The big picture is remembering that when I sit back and don’t force things, when I wait 24-48 hours (or longer!), that my acceptance of sitting back and not controlling a situation often allows for a far better outcome than I could have created.

Accepting does not mean I approve of something.
Accepting does not mean that I like what I see or hear.
Accepting often means making peace with the pain I feel when I cannot change things.
Acceptance is sometimes tolerating something that is intolerable until I can change it, or it changes by its own accord.
Accepting is the whetstone against which my spiritual life is sharpened. The knife, if it had a voice, would not be cheering as it is swept against the stone.

I don’t have to like accepting, I cannot force the true acceptance of something, but I can make a conscious choice to be on the road toward it.