A sensitive question: “How do I know if I am accepting something – or just closing my eyes?”
Acceptance of reality as it is does not feel like disconnection.
It feels like breathing. Like presence.
If I am truly present with what is – even if it is pain – that is acceptance.
If I freeze, disconnect, feel a kind of indifference – maybe it is repression.
Acceptance of reality lies in the understanding that our lives are made up of moments of happiness and satisfaction as well as moments of disappointment and pain, even very great pain. Our refusal to accept moments and experiences that are unpleasant to us actually limits our ability to experience life to the fullest.
And it doesn’t work that way. It just doesn’t.
There is nothing wrong with our lives if we experience moments of discouragement, of heartache, of frustration. On the contrary, a full life is a life that has all of these.
And if I dare to experience all the emotions, then I experience a full life, and more. I expand my comfort zone, the range of places where I feel I have the ability to cope with what life offers and even learn and develop from them.
And this is true spiritual growth. Not to be content with just moments of happiness, but to be willing to experience everything, to understand that everything is part of my growth, and to feel comfortable in such a full life.
Because what is the alternative? A life of fear of every unpleasant or painful situation. A life in which I wouldn’t dare fall in love because my heart might break, that I wouldn’t dare take on challenging roles because I might fail, where I might not dare to follow my dream because I might experience frustration.
So acceptance is exactly the opposite of closing your eyes.
Acceptance is an active act of willingness to experience everything that life holds, and to grow from them.
A question for you: In what area of life are you unsure if you are truly letting go, or simply moving away?
Mindful Education 