Accepting What Is

 

Whenever I forget who I Am, it helps for me to step away from myself. The difference can be subtle. At work, I sometimes walk out into our big, open lumberyard and I breathe in that intoxicating aroma of freshly cut wood. Naturally, I cannot stay out there for long periods, but even a few minutes will usually do the trick. The key, for me, is to remember that the drama is just that; a story.

I heard a story of a student who asked a Zen Master, “How do I find Zen?”

The master said, “Do you hear that stream far away?”

It took complete silence, but the student could finally hear what sounded like a stream, very far away.

“I hear it!” He exclaimed.

“Enter there.” Said The Master.

Zen will never appear in a flash; but you can easily find Zen when the flashes cease.

As I type these words, I hear a very distant train. The rumble of the steel wheels is nearly inaudible, and the whistle blends so perfectly with the wind that it can easily be ignored. However, if I purposefully listen, I hear a place where I too can enter Zen.  

It is not just sounds. A busy bee or a perfectly still flower can evoke the state of Zen. It’s as simple as mooring your boat in the direction of the wind. You become anchored, but whatever else happens, you are less affected than you are when you resist the waves; taking them on like battles rather than watching them pass you by.

That analogy not only works for me, it is The Way for me. We are not excused from the storms of our life-story, but we can choose to excuse the storms rather than to accept their challenges as duals.

“When you’ve done all to stand, stand.” see Ephesians 6:13

There are many people who do not believe their situation is common. They see their personal struggles and, when they compare their situation to others, they believe them to be uniquely troublesome. On the surface, you may even find yourself agreeing with them, affirming the belief that life has dealt them a particularly bad hand. However, if you will look, you will find others, with similar cards, seemingly content with their hand.

You’ll eventually find yourself caught in a rip tide. These things happen. Your life-story is bound to try to drag you out into the deep at some point. If you try to fight the current, you’ll exhaust yourself and no one will be able to save you. Swim parallel to the shoreline and you’ll escape.

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” ~ I Corinthians 10:13 KJV

What does it mean to swim parallel? It means to accept the situation rather than trying to resist it.

The shoreline represents your desired destination right now; but a rip-current represents everything coming at you in the wrong direction. This does not mean you cannot reach the shoreline, but it may mean that you’ll want to save your energy by keeping your desires in your peripheral and accepting the longer, safer way around.

If you are presently facing difficulties, you may find it impossible to ignore them. Try seeing these difficulties as a current you must passively swim alongside rather than directly into. This does not mean the situation will go away, but as you accept it, you will find yourself patiently moving to a better place; where you can turn back to the direction of your goals when the situation is behind you.

Fighting the current of a bad situation is, by far, more exhausting than accepting it and allowing it to grow you back to where you want to be. Even bad situations have a way of pushing you back to shore once you’ve gotten beyond their pull. If you will check the charts of your life-story, you’ll see that all storms pass.

There will come a day when a great tempest will arise in the sea of your life and you’ll sleep through it. Everyone around you will marvel, but you will wonder why they have such little faith.