That quotation touched my funny bone, and I got the message: Face reality and life’s ride is smoother. Then I wondered, “Is this some New Age woo-woo suggesting I indifferently go wherever I’m taken?” When I recalled that for every truth there is an opposite balancing truth, the quote became useful and calming. Chilling out and going with the flow and courageously going against the tide are fraternal twins that can’t exist alone.
One path is not better than the other except in a given moment. What do I need, now that life has thrown me a curve in the form of an accident, sickness, or a disappointing friendship? One’s usual impulse is to resist, deny, and not acknowledge what is so. But often if we manage to accept what has happened, we move toward resolution. That is easier for anyone to say than it is for any of us to do. Perhaps these tips can help:
Change your mind. The most common obstacle to acceptance is the mistaken belief that it means going limp and giving up. It is rather awareness and freedom because it starts with the truth, the gateway to creative solutions.
Be still. Slowly recall: “Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.” Under stress our minds are like water that thinking, fretting, and worrying muddies, hiding resources and talents that lie in its depth. Being still helps us face what is so.
For some events you consider as tragic, consider that a wiser part of you might be leading you to what is satisfying. After the loss of a job, a position, a project, I’ve often heard someone say, “Why didn’t I let go earlier?”