Acceptance is an openness to outcomes that are not what we would prefer. I cultivate it by being aware of others’ preferences and being realistic as to possible outcomes. The opposite is nonacceptance.§
Comparing the actions of one who is accepting to one who is nonaccepting§ |
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|---|---|---|
Situation§ |
Acceptance§ |
Nonacceptance§ |
In a family discussion on where to go for dinner, you…§ |
willing work past your own preference to find the group’s choice.§ |
insist that yours is the best restaurant no matter what others say.§ |
In applying to university and being rejected by your first two choices, you…§ |
quickly adjust and commit to doing well at your third choice.§ |
sulk for years, resenting the university’s obviously flawed decision.§ |
When your family relocates from California to Texas, you…§ |
see fresh opportunities and start making new friends in the Lone Star State.§ |
stubbornly cling to the past, constantly calling your old friends back in California.§ |
Gurudeva explained: “One of the great spiritual powers that people can have is to accept things as they are. That forestalls impatience and intolerance. Acceptance is developed in a person by understanding the law of karma and in seeing God Siva and His work everywhere, accepting the perfection of the timing of the creation, preservation and absorption of the entire universe.”§
“Holding the family together can be summed up in one word: love. Love is understanding. Love is acceptance. Love is making somebody feel good about his experience, whether the experience is a good one or not. Love is giving the assurance that there is no need to keep secrets, no matter what has happened. Love is wanting to be with members of the family.”§
ASSIGNMENT: For the next two weeks, when experiencing situations that do not work out as you had hoped, find ways to let go of your expectations and accept the actual outcome.§
Date you began this assignment ____________________§
MY THOUGHTS ON THE BENEFITS OF ACCEPTANCE: 
§
