Lao-tzu wrote, “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
It is at those times of acceptance that our souls come to peace with the world. Acceptance becomes the sacrament of the present moment, the point at which our struggle becomes useless and the unknown becomes the next step in life. If we learn to accept life as it is, as it must be—despite our best efforts to change it—we can keep on growing, even when we least want to…
It might take a while, but eventually we learn that accepting life as it is—learning to shape ourselves to it, rather than forever trying to wrench it to our own designs—is itself a virtue…and must be accepted.
This excerpt from the book Two Dogs and a Parrot by Joan Chittister is reprinted by permission of BlueBridge/United Tribes Media Inc.
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