Acceptance is like that doctor’s advice to “get more exercise”, it sounds healthy and sensible, but it's in the actual doing that the challenge lies. Yet, it is precisely in those small, unexpected moments that I keep realising just how valuable it can really be.
I recently had one of those moments on my bike when it started raining. At first, it did not seem too bad, but soon enough, I saw drops soaking into my pant legs. My shoulders tensed, my neck shrank inward, and I pedaled on with a frown, as if that posture might protect me from the rain. Then, suddenly, I realised: no matter how hard I resisted, I would not get any less wet. I wondered what would happen if I just allowed it – letting the raindrops do their thing, not exactly welcoming them but simply accepting that they were there. So, I dropped my shoulders, my frown disappeared, and I sat up straight again. Suddenly, it felt less terrible, almost liberating. The flow of irritation and self-reproach (“Why did I not check the weather application?”) faded away. I realised that my tense posture and negative thoughts weighed on me more than the rain itself. This is acceptance, I thought, congratulating myself.
When I shared this story with my weekly Tuesday evening meditation group, other stories quickly surfaced. One participant shared her own hectic morning routine of getting her little daughter ready, taking her to school, and arriving on time at work. But that morning, her daughter Nora had no plans to cooperate and stood crying in the kitchen, deeply upset. She could have pushed through, taken a firmer tone, and biked her sniffling child to school. But she decided to do something different. She took the situation as it was and let go of her usual morning routine. She made tea and calmly sat with Nora on the couch. The result? Her daughter calmed down, and a short while later, they both left for school, relaxed. The result was not just a calm Nora but also a peaceful start to her own workday.
Another participant shared her experience of accepting herself. She knows that in meetings, she does not quickly come up with input on the spot but only thinks of what she wanted to say afterward. During an intensive session on employee satisfaction, she decided not to view her need for more time as a shortcoming. She accepted that this is how she works. And in letting that go, she was able to participate in the discussion calmly, without inner guilt or the feeling that she was falling short.
Acceptance is not a destination; it is a vibrant, ongoing invitation from life itself. It does not ask us to stand still but to take a deep breath and release our resistance. It is not about resignation, but about a gentle, intimate encounter with what is, in this very moment. It is a quiet revolution against the often pointless battles we wage with reality. It is realising that life invites us, again and again, to experience how whole we already are, even with our imperfections, our doubts, our vulnerable humanity.
In acceptance lies a secret: our happiness does not rest in control but in a surrender to the elusive perfection of each moment. In that surrender, we find the way to the deepest serenity and connection with what moves us here and now, with what is most imporant, being life itself.
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Warm greetings,
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