-Make decisions based on the way things are, not the way you are.
-Recognize that many people are slaves to their nature, don't blame them for being themselves.
-Acceptance requires a degree of neutrality. There is a difference between judging people and recognizing their nature.
-Acceptance leads to forgiveness and love. Judgement leads to separation and loneliness.
This is a story I tell in my classes
once a year, usually during February or September. It's an old folk
tale.
There was a fox standing on the edge of the river. As he leaned forward to drink water, a snake approached him. The snake asked the fox to take him across to the other side. "Let me ride on your back." the snake said.
The fox wisely distrusted the snake, "If I let you ride on my back, you will try to kill me and I will drown."
"Ah, but if do that, won't we both drown?"
The fox considered this, and it seemed true to him. He agreed to take the snake across the river on his back. As they approached the deepest part of the current, the fox felt a sharp pain in his neck from the snake's bite. He felt the venom begin to dull his senses, and his body sinking into the cold water. He turned helplessly to look at the snake.
"I'm sorry." the snake said, "but it's my nature."
This is a story about acceptance. The snake is not evil, but it is in his nature to betray. He is as much a victim to it as those around him. His instincts are so strong, they inevitably lead to own demise. The fox sees this truth, but he doesn't fully accept it.
I like this story because it's about animals. With animals, we understand that we must accept them. You feel silly when you yell at your dog or punish him for doing something completely within his nature. But with people we don't often give them the same slack. People have choice, and so we proceed to be thrown into disarray when people make bad choices.
The universe isn't good or bad, it just is. It's not easy to see people in the same way, but you must. Your alternative is to judge others. Judging others is really a projection of you judging yourself. It leads to a host of other projections, none of them good. Judgements keep you in the past. Acceptance puts you in the now. It requires you to forgive the past. This in turn leads to a host of positive projects, namely forgiveness and love. You will also project these onto yourself.
There was a fox standing on the edge of the river. As he leaned forward to drink water, a snake approached him. The snake asked the fox to take him across to the other side. "Let me ride on your back." the snake said.
The fox wisely distrusted the snake, "If I let you ride on my back, you will try to kill me and I will drown."
"Ah, but if do that, won't we both drown?"
The fox considered this, and it seemed true to him. He agreed to take the snake across the river on his back. As they approached the deepest part of the current, the fox felt a sharp pain in his neck from the snake's bite. He felt the venom begin to dull his senses, and his body sinking into the cold water. He turned helplessly to look at the snake.
"I'm sorry." the snake said, "but it's my nature."
This is a story about acceptance. The snake is not evil, but it is in his nature to betray. He is as much a victim to it as those around him. His instincts are so strong, they inevitably lead to own demise. The fox sees this truth, but he doesn't fully accept it.
I like this story because it's about animals. With animals, we understand that we must accept them. You feel silly when you yell at your dog or punish him for doing something completely within his nature. But with people we don't often give them the same slack. People have choice, and so we proceed to be thrown into disarray when people make bad choices.
The universe isn't good or bad, it just is. It's not easy to see people in the same way, but you must. Your alternative is to judge others. Judging others is really a projection of you judging yourself. It leads to a host of other projections, none of them good. Judgements keep you in the past. Acceptance puts you in the now. It requires you to forgive the past. This in turn leads to a host of positive projects, namely forgiveness and love. You will also project these onto yourself.
Practicing acceptance is challenging because it requires you to be fundamentally neutral. You have to see the world for the way it is and not the way you are. Acceptance is understanding that you do not need to fix everything, because there's nothing wrong. Many people are like the snake: they're slaves to their nature. Blaming them for being themselves is a waste of your time. Trying to fix them is downright dangerous. There is a time and a place for people to change, and maybe you will have a role in that. But be patient, and spend that time working on yourself.
-Make decisions based on the way things are, not the way you are.
-Recognize that many people are slaves to their nature, don't blame them for being themselves.
-Acceptance requires a degree of neutrality. There is a difference between judging people and recognizing their nature.
-Acceptance leads to forgiveness and love. Judgement leads to separation and loneliness.
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