We can’t avoid pain, but we can prevent amplifying it to high levels of suffering. How? By choosing a state-of-mind of accepting what is in the present moment. Furthermore, you don’t have to like everything that happens to you. However, you can learn to accept what is your reality in the present moment, not ignore or resist the pain or disapproval of it. By doing so, you decrease your suffering by diminishing its impact.

Acceptance is not passive resignation instead it is a highly active state of awareness in the present moment. You are willing to see the situation as it truly is, not what you think it should be, or wish it was, but how it is. Acceptance assists you in a cultivating a mindset that carries you through the difficulty. It can help you to see how you are feeling and reacting and give you the opportunity to say, “Okay, I don’t like this experience, it’s very painful, but what is the best way for me to navigate this situation? What can I do to begin to lift myself out of this suffering?”

The mindful principle of acceptance assists with cultivating a mindset of resolution and peace in the midst of challenges. It assists you with flowing through the experience with open awareness instead of resisting and forcing which can create more suffering.

Listen to a brief guided meditation to assist you in accepting life as it is:

By Nancy Gentle Boudrie, Awaken With Light, Inc.