Acceptance

When I accept something , what do I do ? Is it just a sentence , “I accept” ? A mere sentence does not imply acceptance . Sometimes I accept something without saying so .

Acceptance implies a certain attitude on my part . When I accept something , I give it the freedom to be what it  is . I do not want the thing to be different from what it is . 

Acceptance implies granting freedom to the object of acceptance to be what it is . In giving the freedom , I do not demand that the object of acceptance to be what it is . The mere word , acceptance , without understanding its implications does not help . I accept a child as the child is . I accept a tree . I accept the sun , the moon . I accept a bird , its colours , its behavior . I accept a chemical as it is . I accept sugar as it is . I accept poison as it is . Acceptance does not imply that I have to use it . In acceptance , there is objectivity . I let things be as they are . 

With reference to my past , however , I do not let it be as it is . I do not accept it because the past has caused me pain . Due to my helplessness I subjected myself to pain , to hurt . Therefore , the painful past is not acceptable to me . Can I bring myself to accept the past ? When I bring myself to bear upon the past , can I be the same person that I am when I accept the sky ?

How do I accept the sky ? What frame of mind do I have when I accept the sky ? That same frame of mind I bring to bear upon my mother and father –whether they are alive or not . In the same way , I accept my friends , my relatives , employees , my grandparents , my children , my partner in life . Individually , I accept every one of them because I give them the freedom to be what they are . I do not blame the sky because it is or is not blue .

I bring this same person to bear upon those with whom my life has been cast . They are all different characters in the drama of my life . I free myself from blaming any one of them . I blame no one , nor do I blame myself .

“ O Lord , please give me the serenity , the clarity , to accept gracefully what I cannot change and change what I can . I cannot change the past for it has already happened . But I can change my attitude , my understanding . I can bring about a change in my attitude towards myself , towards the world , by widening my understanding  . Let me change what I can , and grant me the wisdom to know the difference between what I can and cannot change . " 

~  Written by Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati ( Arsha Vidya Gurukulam )