The One Question Life Asks
Life is always asking us one question:
Will you accept me as I am?
In every situation we face the present moment that is bountiful and dynamic in its flow and the silent question is posed — Do you accept me now?
It may be a disgruntled boss who chastises us for an insignificant error, or perhaps the snow that has our car burried in a foot of ice. Our ability to be at center or to suffer is cast in our willingness to say YES to the unspoken inquiry.
Note the difference in our posture if we smile as we reach for the shovel to dig our way out of the snow bank or if our head is filled with mental noise about the extra effort it is taking us this morning to get on the road. Same action — snow is shoveled. But in one instance we are are aligned with what is.
Acceptance = Antidote 2 Suffering
If someone or something has to change in order for us to be happy … our life at once appears to be an obstacle course with maneuvers and hoops to master and jump through in order to maintain our equilibrium. When we answer Life’s Question with even an unspoken NO, we begin to arm our self with shield up or sword drawn, in order to defend an image of the way we wanted Life to be.
Will you accept me as I am?
For me, the answer is often NO. It seems decidedly too painful to accept this disordered body/mind/being and take this show on the road on some days (read that as, I missed my Doctor’s appointment yesterday.) So when I read the bounced email message from my estranged Mother this morning that said
Your mail could not be delivered because the recipient is only accepting mail from specific email addresses.
I could fully appreciate that she was saying NO, because for her, Life as it presents itSelf is simply too painful to bear witness to. And THIS I only too well understand.
Make no mistake, there is no one out there who needs to accept US as we are. The illusion that we are anything but a barrage of concepts and misconstrued misinformation all rolled up into an identify is the core of the suffering that we are aiming to end. It is not about trying to get our point across or wishing for a sunny day before our spirit can lift.
It is about Seeing what Life has brought to our doorstep and smiling as we take the package (dented or other wise broken with postage due no doubt) and whispering to our Self …
YES.
Even as we get the shovel and dig our way out of the shit — or snow! It’s all interchangeable. ♥
