Accepting What IS
Part of what makes us feel bad is thinking we’re not where we should be or thinking we should be feeling something else.
I’m sure everyone has had the experience of being hard on themselves when they get sick or in pain and thinking if only I could feel better. Or its common to wish people get well soon. Have you ever stopped to think of this? Maybe not, it’s so common.
So when we are thinking I need to feel better soon then we’re hating the part of us that is sick and trying different things so we can feel better. If what we’re trying doesn’t work we can get mad again. If we aren’t able to do things we used to we can get mad again. If it rained and it affected our plans we can get mad. If we get delayed and are running late we can get mad. Think of all the unexpected things that happen daily that cause a negative reaction.
Now imagine if instead of getting mad at the rain we accepted it and found something else we could enjoy. Imagine that if we feel sick we stop worrying over what we can’t do and focus solely on healing and on what we can do. Imagine if we’re running late, we enjoy the new experience. Imagine if you’re feeling low energy one day, you accept that and choose to enjoy the experience.
Imagine if you stopped wishing you felt something else and accepted your feelings, what might shift in your day if you tried this? How might your outlook shift if you tried this throughout the day? I’m not saying accept things that are hurting you or harmful situations though, but accepting the feelings that arise.
Let’s say a meeting you were excited about with a friend was cancelled. Could you accept the feelings that came up, the hurt or loss of that time together. Could you decide something else that you would like to be experiencing that day? Could you go from feeling your day is ruined to having another unexpected, maybe even enjoyable moment?
Let’s say a car cut you off while driving. Could you take a deep breath and feel the hurt feelings and stress. Could you shake out the stress from your body and see the driver as someone who is doing their best? Could you offer them grace so the next time you’re in their position you’re accepting of yourself as well?
Can we...
see opportunities that arise as opportunities for us rather than against us
choose to learn and grow
choose to feel and heal
choose curiosity instead of judgement, even towards ourselves
get to the point of not just reacting, but being able to choose
I would love to help you open up more choices and more possibilities in your life. I believe we can get out of the reaction loop and learn to get on the choosing loop more and more each day.
