Acceptance is a choice

Do you ever find yourself wrestling with a situation, feeling unsettled, heavy in your heart, at odds with yourself and/or the world around you? In reflecting on my post, ‘Four ways to flush out frustration,’ I keep returning to the first way we can absolve ourselves from irritations and disappointments: acceptance. By accepting our reality rather than pretending it doesn’t exist, we make a choice— because we are either choosing a) to live with a particular situation or b) to change ourselves into more of what we seek. Making a choice, for some of us, affords a semblance of control in our lives that might otherwise seem lacking. Yet, when it comes right down to it, each of us entertains a choice every day. We can either allow others and various circumstances to pull us down, or we can choose to rise above. For me, this might comprise sweat, tears, prayers and/or all of the above. Today I choose to be love.

What choice do you make today?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

A thorn in your side

[Image credit: Arvind Balaraman]

Most of us are familiar with the expression a thorn in one’s side (or flesh), or a source of irritation.  For some, this “thorn” may be a dead-end job.  For others, perhaps it’s a debilitating illness.  And for several, it could manifest itself as an unfulfilled dream or settling for second best.  When I find myself experiencing one of these quote-unquote thorns, I try to do two things.  First, I realize while a thorn can cause pain, it’s also a form of protection.  For me, this means whatever I’m dealing with at the moment may require me to be protected from harm, proceed with caution, be taught a lesson or granted more understanding.  Second, I attempt to work the thorn out from my flesh.  I do this by looking for a different job (hypothetically), seeking medical attention or continuing to pursue my dreams.  And I know anything I happen to be settling for is simply a temporary set-back — a side-effect of logistics or whatever the case may be.  Just a tiny little prick in the scheme of things.

Do you have a thorn in your side; how do you deal with it?