Accepting What Is

            Last week, I wrote that acceptance is a universally taught aspect of inner peace across psychology, religions, and spiritualities. You will often hear it as, “Accept what is.” But which “what is”? What is appearing before you and unfolding in your life? Or the what is that is truth, which is the space in which what appears appears and what unfolds unfolds? It depends, of course, on the context of what is being discussed and it can be useful to clarify with the speaker. Because while accepting truth leads to acceptance of what appears and unfolds, it does not work the other way around. No matter how much you accept what appears and unfolds, it will not lead you to an awareness of truth. It is still helpful, however.

When you are aware of truth and you see that what is appearing is nothing more than an appearance—an illusion—it naturally follows that you accept it. There is no motivation to work to change an illusion. To say, “Well, it’s a dream, and I want a happy dream” means you see it as more than an illusion. You want something from it, it still has meaning for you, so it is still real to you.

The awareness of truth does lead to a transformation of the illusion while it still seems real. This, in fact, is where we get our spiritualities and religions. They are the result of ego’s dim awareness of a truth beyond it, and they are formed and shaped by ego for ego. But while they signal an awareness of truth, they do not indicate a shift in consciousness. Because to truth, the illusion has no meaning—even changes that occur because of ego’s dim awareness of truth.

Acceptance without an awareness of truth is more difficult. When the illusion is your reality, it is hard to accept how painful and difficult it can be. Yet, some do come to acceptance, usually when they are older and have come to see how the world works and to see what can (their mind) and cannot (others, the world) be changed. And throughout life, grief is the process offered to come to acceptance. You begin in denial and shock, but when you move into anger and depression you are moving into acceptance, because you would not feel these emotions if you were not acknowledging the loss. Finally, you move into acceptance and understanding. This is why grief is a healing process if you let it unfold.

“Accept what is.” Remember, acceptance does not mean you like the situation. It means you do not resist it—or how you feel about it. And since peace is an absence of conflict, the absence of resistance results in a measure of peace.

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