Acceptance is one of the foundational attitudes of mindfulness and one of the hardest to learn. Our lives are fast-paced and usually geared to accomplishing goals, which sometimes are as simple as buying a loaf of bread, but often are far more challenging\u2014dealing with illness, coping with problems at work or the disintegration of a relationship\u2014while simultaneously responding to the many other demands in our lives. Competing demands are frequently what initially draw us to mindfulness practice. We want to get rid of the stress they are perceived to create, or at least reduce it to manageable proportions. Acceptance may seem a contradictory, not to say counterproductive, guideline. \u201cWhere would I be,\u201d we might ask, \u201cif I just sat back and accepted?\u201d<\/p>\n
It is important to understand up front that acceptance doesn\u2019t mean liking what is happening. It simply means recognizing that this is the way things are at present. To struggle against reality is to engage in a losing battle, and the first casualty is oneself. The sympathetic nervous system charges into action. Adrenaline and later cortisol pour into the body, heightening our stress and compromising our health. Another way to express this dynamic is the quasi-mathematical formula: Stress = pain x resistance.\u00a0 Far from sitting back and doing nothing, acceptance enables us to drop the resistance that clouds our perception and skews our reactions. We are then freed to take effective action based on clear understanding. We accomplish more by accepting.<\/p>\n
Acceptance, however, isn\u2019t easy. We must start by being willing<\/em>, by shifting our attitude from a closed fist to an open hand. This is a major endeavor. It calls on us, for example, to not act out of a reflexive need to control or be the center of attention or fade into the background. It invites us to observe with respect the situation that life presents and respond appropriately. The paradox is that when stress is intense enough or when we see clearly the stakes involved in continued resistance, we become willing to consider real, not just begrudging, acceptance.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>The following practices can help us adopt and maintain an accepting attitude in the face of difficulties:<\/p>\n Acceptance is one of the foundational attitudes of mindfulness and one of the hardest to learn. Our lives are fast-paced and usually geared to accomplishing goals, which sometimes are as simple as buying a loaf of bread, but often are far more challenging\u2014dealing with illness, coping with problems at work or the disintegration of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-monthly-musings"],"acf":false,"yoast_head":"\n\n