We all want to live in harmony, but many people confuse the absence of change with peace. In order to experience authentic peace - both within oneself and with other people and nations - one must be willing to experience the bouts of tension and discomfort that accompany transformation. Constant harmony does not exist and the idea that it should is a myth.
Take weather for example. Most of us consider clear blue skies to be ideal, but storm clouds eventually roll in, bringing needed moisture and clearing the air. Harmony in any given climate does not come from the absence of stormy weather, but arises out of the dance between clear skies and dark clouds. The same is true within individuals - harmony is not the absence of heavy emotions and periodic discomfort, but the outcome of embracing all our emotions, knowing that they come and go like the weather.
- Excerpted from upcoming Portals of Peace
posted by The Energy Coach at 7:38 AM
10 Comments:
I am starting to "get" this. We have really separated our emotional life into rigid categories of bad and good, which makes it very hard to embrace, lets say, sadness and joy in equal measure. I like your weather analogy because it is neutral; when it rains we don't panic that something is terribly wrong with the Earth, we just accept that it is what it is for the day--trusting that it is for the best.
Exactly Melissa, I think that accepting all of our feelings is a big deal. When we think the sky is falling everytime we experience an emotional storm, it just makes it worse:)
L, K.
I love this, Kim!
Roll with the punches!
I am trying to accept these things for what they are and just roll with the punches without getting completely in a rut, like I usually do.
PS. Grandma is always rolling with the punches!
“Anonymous”, I would humbly caution between “accepting” and “living” a situation. Accepting a situation in your life which you would describe as anything less than optimal is tantamount to defeat. Living and “working out” a situation provides an energy that fuels growth. Because as you make an mental commitment and take the subsequent action, you’ve begun effecting change. And we all know that Growth = Change, so the very act of changing a situation should provide you the optimism to fully live your now with gusto and vigor.
And just to quickly follow up about “accepting”… Consider this: There is so much knowledge, literature, philosophy, art, music, and beauty in the world that it would take 1,000 life times to explore and discover it all. And the key to whatever you are looking for is out there… after all, if one person can find it, so can another. This very fact (yes, fact!) should fill you with a giddy excitement and passionate enthusiasm.
Excellent. I love this and whole-heartedly agree with it.
also, I believe acceptance is the key to a peaceful existance within and without. By accepting each situation as it comes, exactly as it comes brings peace...to me this does not mean inaction...I can take action within acceptance...I still do what I need to or want to do within a situation but am not struggling against anything.
This acceptance makes the growth which can sometimes be painful...easier and helps me to move throw it faster.
Bravo... well said, Gabi.
V
Anonymous - Grandma is the bomb:)
Vincent - I too believe that getting too comfortable in an unhealthy situation is not good, tragic even. I love how this discussion has evolved to acceptance along with right action.
Bravo indeed!
Gabi, I can honestly say that acceptance - looking at things as they are instead of how I want them to be - has increased the peace in my life a thousand times over.. From the sound of your post, it seems like I'm not alone in this.
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