Accepting What Is

Throughout my career as a minister, coach, and teacher, certain concepts and terms take our attention, but after a while they fade into the background. While this is common practice, often we find ourselves losing sight for valuables lessons and reminders. Because I don’t like losing the value of important points, I dig them back up both, in my blog and in my classroom.

This idea goes hand in hand with the fact that there really is nothing new out there. You could take any one spiritual principle and chew on it for a very long time and receive much wisdom. Some teachings that appear to be fads would seriously benefit us if we keep them in our everyday vernacular.

‘Accepting what is,’ is one of those points. Accepting what is requires that you cease judging the person, the situation, or the event before you. When one ceases judging what is in advance, you make room to have a more authentic experience. To accept what is gives room to have a new experience instead of bringing your old and limiting ideas to what is in front of you.

Now, while I have made this sound simple, it will not always be so, and that is because most of us do not show up to a situation without opinions. While accepting what is might sound logical and smart, it takes a vast amount of emotional maturity to do so. It requires that you have an understanding that your reactions to any given situation are not your reality, but an emotional response sparked from some deeper ideas and domestication. To be able to accept what is requires that you are willing to learn, to not know, and to possibly even be ‘wrong’ about your opinions. Now, that takes emotional maturity.

There is more good news. When you are able to get yourself to this level of understanding and take on this new habit you will receive a bounty of freedom. What most people don’t understand is that all the opinions and judgments that we carry and walk around with have a weight to them. An opinionated mind is a closed mind while an open mind is a very free mind. A free mind is free to grow and learn and experience newness which cannot happen if you always think you know, and specifically if you happen to think you are right.

Accepting what is, is the same as having a habit of non-judgment, both open your mind and heart and the rewards are huge. I will offer you one simple practice and it is likely the same one your grandmother gave you – when facing off with the temptation to have an opinion – STOP – BREATH – and CHOOSE. Choose what you say, choose what brings you freedom.