What is acceptance?
Acceptance implies embracing what is, rather than concluding or desiring what does not exist and could be a mere chimera. Humans mentally configure images about a person or events and attempt to conjure images. It is cardinal for humans accept foibles in any individual.
Three Es for a peaceful life
Humans are at peace and able to experience life to hilt when they accept life with enormous equanimity, equipoise and equanimity. Even so, such acceptance must be guided by discernment – learning the trait to analyse the difference between what one can alter and what is well nigh impossible to transform. The human mind needs to metamorphose and transfigure to accept everything in totality, rather than bits and parts.
Acceptance of our own foibles helps to view the faults in others without being judgmental; it enables individuals to evolve into better human beings and become patient and to skirt mordacious kinds of criticism.
Story of Velan
There once lived a virtuoso carpenter called Velan; extremely proficient, he soon became very prosperous. With the unexpected splurge of prosperity, Velan became extremely arrogant and selfopinionated. Kuppuswamy, the family patriarch was an ace carpenter too. Velan was quite inconsiderate towards his father and could never accept him. He never lost an opportunity to pass disparaging comments, much to the chagrin of Muthuswamy, his son.
One day, Muthu poignantly observed with moist eyes his father berating the elderly one on account of all the food spilt from his plate. The enfeebled Kuppuswamy did not have the requisite beef and muscle to handle the food gracefully. The grandson carved out a fresh plate which was sturdy and large enough to accommodate all the helpings of food dumped rather inconsiderately on his plate.
Velan remonstrated his son for this act, but was taken aback when his son retorted, “Father, in time this plate will be one day be passed on to you. It will hold you in good stead.”
The remark hit Velan like a thunderbolt. He realised that he had not accepted his father and treated him with only contempt. The quintessence truth of acceptance dawned on him.
“Acceptance does not mean you agree with, condone, appreciate, or even like what has happened. Acceptance means that you know regardless of what happened that there is something higher than you at work. It also means that you know that you are OK. And that you will continue to be Ok,” writes Iyanla Yanzant, an American inspirational speaker and lawyer.