Acceptance
I’ve been giving acceptance some more thought since my last writing on the subject. On a whim I decide to look up the meaning of the word. Like most words it has several meanings but two hold my attention leading me to pause and reflect.
“Acceptance - Willingness to tolerate a difficult situation - ‘a mood of resigned acceptance’, the process or fact of being received as adequate, valid, or suitable.” https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/
In the past when I thought about acceptance it would be in terms of - ‘a mood of resigned acceptance’ or put another way ‘this is how my life now is’. For some reason my mind I realise sees the word ‘now’ as some permanent arbitrary line, above which everything that was once achievable now tantalisingly resides. They say that chronic pain and depression are connected and although I hate to admit it, as by doing so might in some way label me as depressed, I think the science is correct. Whilst I don’t consider myself depressed I do accept that my brain has over the years developed a short circuit to negative thinking which switches in readily when pain and stress are amplified. Add to this my inner voice, with its true Yorkshire grit accent, and it’s easy to see how acceptance is translated in my head as “This is how it is, so you had better just knuckle down and get on with it.”
After giving the first definition some thought I move onto the second – “the process or fact of being received as adequate, valid, or suitable.” I entertain this and find it rather appealing. Who doesn’t after all want this? Suddenly I’m aware of the meditation cushion I brought on a recent trip to the Samye Ling Buddhist temple in Eskdalemuir making its presence felt. “Time for some self-compassion lass!” I hear it utter. It’s true my posterior has made little contact since I was drawn to its alluring red hues. Time perhaps for some compassionate rewiring.
“Acceptance - Willingness to tolerate a difficult situation - ‘a mood of resigned acceptance’, the process or fact of being received as adequate, valid, or suitable.” https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/
In the past when I thought about acceptance it would be in terms of - ‘a mood of resigned acceptance’ or put another way ‘this is how my life now is’. For some reason my mind I realise sees the word ‘now’ as some permanent arbitrary line, above which everything that was once achievable now tantalisingly resides. They say that chronic pain and depression are connected and although I hate to admit it, as by doing so might in some way label me as depressed, I think the science is correct. Whilst I don’t consider myself depressed I do accept that my brain has over the years developed a short circuit to negative thinking which switches in readily when pain and stress are amplified. Add to this my inner voice, with its true Yorkshire grit accent, and it’s easy to see how acceptance is translated in my head as “This is how it is, so you had better just knuckle down and get on with it.”
After giving the first definition some thought I move onto the second – “the process or fact of being received as adequate, valid, or suitable.” I entertain this and find it rather appealing. Who doesn’t after all want this? Suddenly I’m aware of the meditation cushion I brought on a recent trip to the Samye Ling Buddhist temple in Eskdalemuir making its presence felt. “Time for some self-compassion lass!” I hear it utter. It’s true my posterior has made little contact since I was drawn to its alluring red hues. Time perhaps for some compassionate rewiring.
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