“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.”
― Roy T. Bennett
Letting Go With Acceptance
One of my biggest life epiphanies has been this:
I allow life to continuously flow by choosing to let go of things (and people) that are no longer compatible with me.
There could be many reasons for this, and the main one is this:
It is no longer a priority for me.
I either have lost interest in certain activities or the relationships no longer excite me, usually due to the lack of reciprocity or large disparity in values.
This philosophy is beautifully described in a zen story about a man who visited a monk for advice.
After finishing an intensive silent retreat, the man felt something was still lacking although he was in a better headspace than he first started.
Because of his curiosity for an answer, he was granted permission to seek advice from any of the monks in the monastery.
After contemplating, the man asked one of the teachers:
“How do you find peace?”
The monk replied:
“I say “yes.” To everything that happens in life, I say “yes.”
At first, the man didn’t understand what the monk had meant. However, shortly after returning home, he discovered the wisdom behind those words which was this:
To experience peace means to accept reality – what is truly happening.
Because by doing the opposite – resisting life, he experiences suffering.
But when he surrenders and says “yes” to what is occurring, he can be in a place of power by choosing an appropriate action for the situation.
When life doesn’t go his way, instead of going against the current, he can relax and let the stream carry him so he can flow through life.
Resistance Is A Form of Suffering
By saying “no” to life, you are living in resistance by forcing your way through life.
When you aren’t willing to make peace with external events, you are putting in an effort trying to change the outcome.
Examples may include the following:
- Romantic breakup
- Job loss
- Unfavorable health condition
For the separation of partnership, you may try to convince the other person to stay in your life. As for the job case, you may try to salvage the situation at work. And lastly, for the health situation, you may disregard your medical diagnosis and live in denial.
There are even small forms of resistance such as not accepting heavy traffic and unpleasant weather.
Living out of alignment with life will cause pain and suffering.
Realize this:
You only have full control of yourself.
Most events in life are out of your control, especially those that have happened in the past.
You can make peace with everything that has occurred by giving them acknowledgment and expressing self-compassion, realizing that you did your best knowing what you knew at that time with the tools you had.
This also applies to others such as your parents and past romantic and platonic relationships.
Because trying to change the past is futile and a form of escape from reality.
By wanting to alter the outcome and allowing the event to control your behaviors, you are giving away your power.
Instead, completely owning the situation, you can come from a place of acceptance. After being in a calm and collected state, you can ask yourself:
“How will I choose to respond?”
Driven by self-love, you can make an empowering decision.
Embrace the Truth
Inevitably, life throws unexpected challenges at us, as it rarely happens according to plan.
That’s one of life’s beauties as it always knows what we need to learn.
It is our ally with designed obstacles for us to overcome. And by conquering them, we grow and develop into a better version of ourselves.
Everything happens with a purpose.
You have the power to choose that reason, and your response to any event.
Your choice can be one of the following:
- Hindrance weighing you down
- Catapult launching you forward
Using challenges as opportunities for growth, you can discover the lessons you are searching for and grow into a wiser man.
Then you can trust life knowing it is always on your side – that everything which happens is for your benefit.
And when you flow with life, everything you do takes less effort.
There’s no resistance when you go with the current of life.
However, there are times when discomfort and even pain are necessary for growth.
Take exercise for example.
If you desire to live a healthy lifestyle, working out is important. And during training, it can be uncomfortable to increase your heart rate, or break down different muscle groups can be uncomfortable.
Because of the resistance, putting effort is required to break your current muscles in order to build them into stronger ones.
Therefore, choose the suffering that is aligned with your core values and highest calling.
Closing Thoughts
Deep down, your heart knows your truth – the course of action that will allow you to connect with your authentic self.
When you act accordingly to your deepest purpose, all emotional burden fades away, and you can find lightness in your body and heart.
You can experience peace knowing there’s a continuous flow of energy dissolving any blockages in the way.
By letting go of what is no longer compatible, you generate space for what is and what could be.
And when you can take full responsibility for your life and make empowering decisions to get out of pain, you can move forward.
Start by choosing to say “yes” to life.
I am on a mission to help 1,000,000 people, but I can’t do that without your help. Please share this article with anyone who you may think will find it valuable and helpful. Thank you very much! I greatly appreciate it!
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