“Acceptance leads to change. Change should be for the better… you control you.”

Have you ever noticed when you are in physical pain that if you resist that pain it sometimes feel worse, but if you breathe into it and try to relax it doesn’t hurt so much? Our mental and emotional discomfort react the same way. If you find yourself distressed in some way, try leaning into it. Embrace it. Let it wash over and through you. You’ll find the distress passing much faster.

A regular meditation practice can help us develop skills of accepting what is, and leaning into difficulty. An excerpt from UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center says: “One thing that shows up in the research across the board is that people who practice mindfulness report being happier. What doesn’t show up in the findings is that their lives automatically get better. They don’t necessarily stop getting sick or stop having difficulties, or challenges, or losing their jobs. They lead normal lives, like all of us do. But, the quality of their mind and their ability to be happy in the face of it is different. What mindfulness does is to shift and change our attitude, and create a way of being in the world with more peace and balance instead of being at the mercy of these ups and downs of life.

As you get settled into place for today’s meditation, remember that you really do have choice in how to engage with the challenges of your life. You can choose to embrace them, or  you can choose to ignore, suppress, deny, or get stuck in them. For today, try acceptance and see what happens. I’d love to hear how it goes. Share your experiences and insights here.