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Acceptance Training

I think we spend an inordinate amount of energy focusing on what things would be like if they weren't what they are.  The fact is, they are what they are, and any energy spent on wishing them to be different is a waste of time.  I have several thoughts on this cumbersome aspect of human nature.

1. Acceptance is freedom.  Once you accept a situation for what it is, and stop wishing it to be different, you give yourself the liberty to make the best of it and move on.  A lovely gift indeed.
2. Acceptance is not denial.  Ignoring a situation, especially the unpleasantries that come with it, does not help you move on.  It only propogates a false sense of reality.  No one wants to live an illusion.
3. Acceptance is not resignation.  It is the proactive appreciation of circumstances as they stand.
4. Acceptance is not easy.  It often means conceding defeat or giving up a certain hope.  Neither of which are particularly fun, especially for optimistic people like yours truly. 

On the upside, one of the tenants of Buddhism is that the only constant in life is its impermanence.  Everything is changing in every moment.  It does little good to cling to hopes or desires, because the circumstances that generate those hopes are themselves changing constantly. 

So, if you can't get to the land of acceptance, the least you can do is recognize where you are: On a fast-moving train with the scenery whisking by.

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