Reality – the universe, the real world, how things actually are, etc. – is always here for us, just as it is, completely without regard for our subjective responses to any of it.
Hate it? Love it? Indifferent to it? It cares not; it proceeds anyway. (Actually it may care but caring will not change its trajectory.) The universe is not codependent; it will not bend over backwards to please us, nor will it capriciously punish us because it is upset with us. It asks us instead to develop acceptance, which we are well advised to do.
Yes, you knew all of that, of course, but I think we act otherwise much of the time. Our dissatisfaction with where things are reflects an exaggerated sense of our power to change external reality; that power is simply are not available to us. No matter how much you may dislike like the weather out there today, to illustrate, you can’t change it. You can and may complain about it as much as you like, or even go back into the house and try to ignore the meteorological events that are the culprit in our hypothetical situation, but the weather will not change for any of us. It is helpful to remember that the weather is flowing out of a different authority. And ultimately we are at peace when we are in sync with the weather, not trying in some way to resist it.
But are we ultimately powerless in our relationship with things outside ourselves? Not at all.
We adapt to reality, and the acceptance piece is key to our finding a healthy relationship with the larger Self. As drops of water in this lovely, vast ocean of Consciousness, our awareness of the whole ocean – interbeing – takes us from resisting how things are to flowing along with them.
In Fierce Grace, a movie about Ram Dass and his struggles subsequent to a serious stroke, the overarching theme is acceptance. Ram Dass was initially blown out of the water by his stroke, according to his own report. He had lost every spiritual thing he had learned throughout his life and only lay in deep pain, shame and depression. Whereas he had devoted his life to helping others, he faced the crushing pain of realizing he could now no longer do anything for himself. Through his own fierce work on acceptance, he was able to move from the point of total rejection of the way things were to being completely okay, moment to moment to moment. It is a state of awakening and when we get there, our obstacles disappear. For a few minutes, anyway!
Please give a few moments when you can to acceptance. It is a peaceful, settling action and it can help everyone who interacts with you.
