How To Start Accepting Life Rather Than Resisting It
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. Lao Tzu
Definition of life varies from person to person.
What you term as life is different from another person definition.
In all, our definition of life varies with our philosophy. And your philosophy is what shapes and guide how you see life. Something beyond feelings and attitudes.
Are you resisting life?
Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it says, Lao Tzu.
The minute you resist life, you are called to surrender to the unfolding conditions says Tony Fahkry.
“Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. You don’t have to like it. it’s just easier if you do.” — Byron Katie
We all at one point in our lives must have resisted life one way or the other.
Have you ever been in a situation where you know you are not down for something? And you still went ahead to do it anyway only for things to get worse? Yes, that’s you resisting life.
It happens to you and me all the time.
We all at one point must have resisted life and must have cost us dearly.
“The point is to lean toward the discomfort of life. And see it clearly rather than to protect ourselves from it,” states Pema Chodron.
A friend of mine travelled recently and he had a fatal accident with his car. Ask me how? He resisted life.
His body, his car had given him a clear sign that he wasn’t meant to travel now. But he declined and turned deaf ear to it.
And in doing otherwise the result of it was a fatal accident. While sleeping and driving on a highway before running into another car.
After my friend recovered from his severe injuries. The first thing he said was I should have being more patient with myself and listened to what life was telling me.
When you resist something, you not only cause it to persists but potentially to grow in size or impact.
The truth is that my friend wasn’t present with himself rather he was all about the future. When you resist anything, you resist the present moment.
Life has a way of showing us a signal of things right before they happen. And resisting it only pollutes us with more misery.
Most of our pain, most of our suffering comes from resistance to what is. Life is. And when we resist what life is, we suffer.
The harder we try to get away from the bad things in our lives, the tighter their hold on us becomes. When we surrender to reality instead of wrestling with it, it frees up our energy to be used in better ways.
“Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is rather than how it should be” Wayne Dyer
Resisting anything requires energy, and that loss of energy is stress. Resistance is the loss of energy that results when you attempt, with your thoughts, your feelings, to change a person, event, or circumstance. Says Gary Zukav and Linda Francis authors of The Heart of the Soul: Emotional Awareness.
The amount of stress in your life is determined by how much energy you spend resisting your life.
The more you resist your circumstances, the more stress you bring into your life.
If you resist everything, your life becomes filled with stress.
You do not like your job. Stress.
You do not like your family. Stress.
You do not like your classmates. Stress.
You do not like yourself. Stress.
Nothing that you see or encounter meets your approval. This is a recipe for illness.
Stress is your indication that you are resisting your experience in the present moment.
When you resist anything that you experience, you resist the present moment. When you resist the present moment, you resist your life. When you resist your life, you create stress.
To stop resisting life, you need to follow the process and trust it to get you to where you want to be.
Once you accept your life, greet it without resistance. You can determine what you need to change in order to create the circumstances and experiences that you desire. Says Gary Zukav.
We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones. Jules Verne
When we release resistance towards the way things are. We create space for many more opportunities. Letting go of our “shoulds” is one of the most powerful ways you can change your life and feel peace says Orly Levy in her post stop resisting and start accepting life.
Are you learning from life?
“I take all my life lessons, which some people might call ‘mistakes,’ and apply them to my future so that I keep growing.” ~ Kimberly Caldwell
If you are not learning from life, you are resisting life. Because in the wise word of Plutarch it says “Fate leads him who follows it, and drags him who resist”.
At every point in our lives, there is always something new to learn from life.
Life can be a great teacher if only you pay attention to it.
I have learnt more from life than anything else I have ever been taught in school. The more you learn from life, the more your experience with life broadens.
Nature, environment, colleagues, neighbour, spouse, and your child(ren) are all part of the life long lesson you are learning from life.
In your pursuit of learning from life, perfectionism mindset can draw you back. Any time we try to control something that’s out of our hands desperately fight reality, cling to something that’s already passed, or get lost in the sea of “Why me?”, we inadvertently create our own suffering.
Instead of lamenting about how things “should” be (in your perfect world), accept everything as it is. And ask yourself how you can best utilize things as they are to accomplish your goals and dreams.
Remember: If you are not learning from life, you are resisting life.
