Acceptance

It seems like some days you just feel horrible and others seem to have a nice glow to them. What is interesting though is that it doesn't always seem to have anything to do with the events that occur, but the thoughts that are going on inside our heads. Yesterday for example, I felt like the day was never going to end and I just couldn't wait to finish my classes. I was getting anxious sitting there, having to focus, and time seemed to pass much slower than usual. The day itself was like any other, the only difference was me. This is a pretty normal experience, but what it really means is:

How we feel depends not on the events of the day themselves, but how we choose to respond to them

Really this is a simply idea. I wake up in the morning and from that moment on there are infinite choices that I must make throughout the day that add up to my total experience of it. The present moment is always changing, always creating new situations and circumstances. I find that in my own life when I feel the worst is when I am resisting things as they are. I want to be doing something different, be somewhere else, or be with a different person. This is one important choice we make each moment:

1) Accept the moment
2) Resist the moment

Whatever it is thats bothers us in the moment is either within our power to change or not. If it isn't, then why bother stressing over it? It's like that saying "what you resist persists". If I struggle against something it will push back stronger. If I am able to accept something, it will either continue without bothering me or it may even change on its own. From a place of acceptance I can make the effort to make the changes that I want with no attachment to results. At that point it doesn't really matter because I am at peace already.

Why is it so hard to accept things? I think that for me I often get a sense of satisfaction from thinking that I am right. If only things were the way I think they should be then everything would be perfect. This is an extremely arrogant attitude when I think about it, but one that many people have at times. I also think that acceptance is often mistaken for weakness. Our society teaches us to go for what we want and never give up until we get it. Everything is a battle, a fight to be won. The war against cancer, war against drugs, war against obesity. These kinds of attitudes just add fuel to the fire. Acceptance doesn't mean we can't try to change things, but trying to make that change from a place of anxiety and desperation is not the most effective way.

Just think of those people who just seem to flow through the day without being bothered by everything going on around them. Not those who suppress it and say they are okay, but those who are truly at peace and don't seem to put up a fight against everything. That is how I strive to be.