This is in response to a request from kurdt318 (so if the thread sucks, blame him).

Seriously folks, I have a slip of paper taped up where i see it every time I leave my cabin--one of the things it says is "Accept everything." First of all, understand that accepting is not the same thing as approving, endorsing, or condoning.

I'm using my sweeties comp now (I came up to deliver groceries, take her to the clinic, and get drinking water at the local spring) and she just said "What is, is, man. That's all there is to it. You can accept 'it' or you can make yourself miserable."

S'true. One of the many ways we choose to suffer is by refusing to accept what is. For instance, I got a call today from the Southeastern Foundation--they provide health care to Natives, and was told that my tribe isn't on their list since we do not yet have Federal recognition (two bills for this purpose are pending in Congress right now, however). How would it serve me to not accept this? I thanked the woman who called to give me the news (and I refuse to label it bad news--it is just news)--now I know what I need to do to get coverage from the local clinic.

See, I have been taught--and accept as true--that God does not make mistakes. Perfection lies in every situation, every event. God sends us nothing but angels and blessings. I once thought that getting busted while in the process of a massive alcohol binge (troopers found a shopping bag full of bud)--now I realize they most likely saved my life. At any rate, I quite smoking while I was in jail--which helped my health--although I did take it up again some months later.

I am that which I am. You are that which you are. But if I fail to give you permission to be who and what you are, I only hold myself back spiritually.

I intend to add more later; right now, Doug is waiting on me to do the water run.

As usual, I agree with you on this Arms. There no sense fretting over what you cannot control.

"What is, is, man. That's all there is to it. You can accept 'it' or you can make yourself miserable."

As usual, I agree with you on this Arms. There no sense fretting over what you cannot control.

Word.

Agreed...

Beautiful.

It should be noted that to accept is NOT the same thing as to approve or to condone.

You can not put down that which you have not first picked up.

i dont think accepting is really somethin you 'do', its more just... not being deluded in an attempt to control things.

i dont think accepting is really somethin you 'do', its more just... not being deluded in an attempt to control things.

Agreed--it is more a state of mind.

Just as an experiment, gang, pay close attention to your thoughts and notice how many times you judge something--judging being the opposite of accepting.

I catch myself doing this quite often.

I read a book recently called "The Power of Now" which contains some info similar to what youre saying about acceptance. Great book. I find myself complaining about things like the wind blowing directly against me on my pedal bike on the way to work...then I catch myself and just accept it and not label it good or bad. It is very freeing. Think about the saying "I hate myself". It doesnt make sense because there arent two people. I and myself are one. Accept it and deal with it.

Hopefully this doesn't mean passively accepting things that could be changed or you do or could have control over.

Beside that, I definitely agree, there's no need to dwell on things that must be. For instance, I was born with one club foot (which is something that cannot be fixed) and am very self-conscious about it. Just a few days ago, my girlfriend of 8 months invited me to her sister's pool to hang out and swim. I just said "no, I have stuff to do, I can't..." as usual, to avoid telling her about it. About half way home I said fuck it, there's nothing I can do about it, I might as well reveal my secret and own it. So I did just that and am extremely happy I did. Not only do I feel totally comfortable walking around her house without shoes on now, but she also feels really good that I was able to talk to her about it (as I have never told a girlfriend before and all but 2 or 3 of my friends have ever known about it). She felt very special and happy that I chose her to talk about it with and that I was able to open up to her on such a level (it's hard for me to talk about). This opening up led to massive amounts of sexy time for me over the weekend :) In conclusion, acceptance of things that are unchangeable es muy bueno.