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Acceptance

February 28, 2006 By Leave a Comment

I have been reflecting on acceptance for the last week or so. Here are my thoughts:

What circumstances necessitate acceptance?

    – Change in our circumstances
    – Call from God
    – Epiphany (realization of some falsehood we are holding on to, new awareness of some truth about who we are or about our life, realization that we are fighting the inevitable)

What prompts us to move towards acceptance?

    – realization
    – awareness
    – awakening

What must happen to allow acceptance?

    – making a decision for change
    -letting go of false perceptions, cultural messages, and our need to control the outcome of a given situation

What is acceptance and how does it differ from resignation?

  • Acceptance: the quality or state of being accepted [to receive willingly; to endure without protest or reaction; to regard as proper, normal, or inevitable ; to recognize as true : BELIEVE; to make a favorable response to; to agree to undertake (a responsibility)] or acceptable [welcome, pleasing] — Definitions from www.webster.com

    • Acceptance connotes hope. It is active not passive.

  • Resignation: an act or instance of resigning something : SURRENDER; a formal notification of resigning; the quality or state of being resigned : SUBMISSIVENESS

    • Resignation connotes a lack of hope as well as passivity. May be an indicator of not owning one’s power.

    What is the fruit of acceptance?

    Peace and Joy.

    Joy can occur in the midst of difficult circumstances while happiness is dependent on our circumstances.

    Joy [a state of well-being and contentment]

    Happiness [a pleasurable or satisfying experience]

    Filed Under: Faith Growth, Spiritual Practices