Finding Peace Through Acceptance

From time to time, I hear from readers who take issue with one of the daily messages. A few weeks ago, I received a comment about a recent message on Acceptance. This reader related their concern because they said they could not accept current events. Now I can’t really get into that specific issue, but I can bring a little clarity to what we mean by acceptance in a spiritual context.

I’ll begin by explaining what spiritual acceptance isn’t. Acceptance is not agreement, and it doesn’t mean forcing ourselves to like an unpleasant or unwelcome experience or situation. Acceptance is not a call for passivity or resignation in the face of circumstances we want to change.

So what is acceptance and why is it important? Acceptance is staying present to reality as it is and not succumbing to resistance or denial. I can recall times in my life when I simply did not want to accept what was happening. I tried to exert control over what could not be controlled. I tried to pray away unwanted situations. I worried and obsessed over feared outcomes. But all I did was exhaust myself and distance myself from my own power.

Acceptance: The Key to Personal Power

All the lasting power we can ever have comes from within ourselves. When we are fully present to life as it is, when we stop struggling against what life is showing us, we are better able to choose our reactions and stay present. In other words, the world within us can help us navigate the world around us.

We can then pray and meditate, not to change difficult circumstances but to better equip ourselves to meet them. Whatever we wish to access—from the softness of our loving and compassionate natures to the steeliness of our resolve and determination—our words and actions will be guided by our inner compass, not by outer triggers and stressors.

And that’s not all. Practicing acceptance is the gateway to receiving a steady flow of divine guidance, that sacred whisper that arises from within and inspires our words and actions. It also makes us receptive to grace, those precious flashes of clarity and inspiration that let us know that, no matter how dire a situation, God is indeed in the midst of it.

Finding ourselves in an unwelcome situation is the perfect opportunity to practice spiritual acceptance. When we accept a situation as it is, we are also accepting ourselves as we are—frightened, angry, bewildered—with love and without judgment. It is from this place our real work begins. This is our opportunity to align ourselves with God within and live as fully as we can from our divine natures. We can affirm peace and be peaceful. We can affirm strength and be strong. We can affirm love and be loving. All that we pray for will then spring forth from within us, a balm that will soothe our shaken souls and bring comfort to a hurting world.