Acceptance-One of The Secret Keys to Happiness and Success

To accept
what has been
what IS
and what will be,
To be able to stand
immovable
and unshakable
as a mighty rock
that does not complain
nor wince out loud,
To be able to accept everything
and still stand,
is to truly possess
great power.
It is when things
have already been counted as lost
that all things rise yet again
to be gained.

A strong rock can withstand any blow, any wave crashing against it. After the wave settles, the rock still stands whole. Its happiness can’t ever be lost or swept away because its happiness does not exist outside of itself.

What are you afraid of? What is it that you cannot accept? The shortest path to peace is still acceptance. Without acceptance, we cannot even begin from where we are.

It is important to begin where you are so you can start your journey to where you really want to be – to HAPPINESS and SUCCESS. If you DENY your current problems, you’re only fooling yourself. You cannot plan accurately. You cannot plot the course you need to take because you are living under the ILLUSION that you are already “OK” where you are not.

Accept your problems. Accept your tears. Accept your defeat. Accept your weakness. Accept your exhaustion. Even God cannot help you if you cannot accept what it is you need to pray for.

To accept means to acknowledge, to admit, to see. Whenever we accept something, we recognize two things: 1) we recognize an existing problem that needs to be solved, and 2) we recognize we are still there, hanging on and big enough to accept the difficulties that come our way.

In a way, acceptance denotes a certain kind of CONFIDENCE. Without acceptance, we say that whatever it is we cannot accept is so big it will certainly crush us to pieces. Acceptance says that though we be crushed into pieces, it’s still alright. We don’t just vanish all of a sudden after that. We still exist in those little pieces, pieces we can still pick up and make into a better stronger whole.

So much of the things we cannot accept cannot be changed anyways. No matter what we do, we cannot run away from it. Bitter memories haunt us like ghosts. We let them haunt us rather than confine them to the past where they belong.

We can’t change anymore the bad things that have happened in the past. We can only accept that they have happened. Only when we accept the past can we begin to declare that they have no power anymore today.

To RESIST is to WASTE precious energy fighting an impossible battle. Surrender that battle so you can win the next battles, the more important battles that will define your life.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Accept your grief today, and then accept God’s love and healing for you. ACCEPT the path to your happiness and success.

LIFE STATEMENT

I will go through this life only once,
and I shall have but one chance to live;
Not all people will like me,
others may even despise me,
as I may not be easily understood;
Yet I will take this chance to live,
and I will reach out in ways I know;
I will love those whom I can,
and I will strive to understand them more;
Not all days will bring me sunshine,
so I will rejoice also for the rain;
Not every endeavor will be a success,
but I will savor the victories I achieve;
Not all dreams I dream will be mine,
but in time new dreams will fill my heart,
and as from a star those hopes will propel me forward
doing everything the best way I know I can;
No fear shall trample me whatsoever,
though some tasks seem to outweigh my strength;
I will only do what I have to do,
and God will take care of the rest!

DETACHMENT

Detachment. Strong word. Pretty scary word. Given the choice, we’d avoid it, we’d put it so far below our list we’d wish we’ll never need to consider it anymore. For whether we admit it or not, detachment brings to our minds our most dreaded fears – separation, letting go, goodbyes. It’s as though the very word reminds us of brokenness, depravity, hurts we couldn’t even describe.

Yet is this the true essence of the virtue? Is detachment a cold harsh tool that rips us off our humanity and replaces our hearts of sorrow with hearts of hardest stones?

It is just the opposite, my friend. For the true essence of detachment brings us not to the barrenness of the desert we fear so much, but to the calm undisturbed waters in the deep that neither moans nor retreats from the fast changing currents at the surface.

Detachment is a steady tree in the middle of a roaring storm, it is an anchor that keeps us safe and secure from the might of the crashing waves. It guides us as we journey forth to our destinations, like the sun whose brightness never fails to shine upon us wherever we may be. It allows us to weep, yet gives us also the freedom to rejoice, trusting everything will be just fine.

Detachment is after all, not a detachment from the people and things we value the most, but a detachment from our own fears, from the fear of losing the ones we truly love.

If we can just begin to understand, if we can just believe that God stands with us, that God provides everything we need, that God is not selfish nor covetuous of our desires and happiness, maybe we can trust that our joy will not be taken away from us without a deeper purpose nor will it be taken away from us forever. If we can just believe that God is everywhere, and that God is in all things, maybe we can be assured that all things we hold dearly lay safely upon His hands. Maybe we’d be comforted for we know that God is only a prayer a way, and hence, so are all things in whom He dwells.

Detachment therefore is not about being deprived of the good, but of being free from our burdens. Detachment is not about letting go but of holding on so fervently and confidently, believing that no wind or storm can ever take away that which you have loved. Detachment is not about our brokenness, but of our wholeness, of being able to protect and keep our joy whatever the external circumstances may be.

Joy In Surrender

I have worn myself out scheming for my desired end, yet only in surrender did I find an end far more than what I could have ever hoped for!

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