The Acceptance of Life

Acceptance: what does this mean? It is, in this context, starkly different from resignation, giving up, or "accepting your fate". There is a dark and a light side to every concept, just as a coin has two sides-- one you see, one you don't see, and the physical body has inside and outside. And so acceptance too can be seen through duality, a positive form of acceptance, full of love, compassion and understanding, and then a negative form of acceptance, full of fear, anger and self-pity.

What kind of acceptance do you live in, the one that frees you, or the one that binds you? 80% of the time? 90% of the time? less? more?

Consider this: a man was walking in a wood when a bear came across his path, or perhaps he came across the bear's path. The bear and the man regarded each other with fear at first, and then looked at each other distrustingly, they were only 10 or 12 paces from each other. Would the man shoot him? Would the bear attack him? The man thought of running back in the other direction as fast as he could, but he was afraid the bear would chase him. And true, this particular bear was a hungry bear, and he had a hungry look in his eye. It had been weeks since he found a nice juicy dear to eat. For the bear, if the man ran, it meant he would make a good meal, and he would chase it and eat it. And so the man stood there, and the bear stood there. Nothing happened for many minutes. Suddenly, the bear stood on its hind legs and let out a mighty roar. The man closed his eyes and uttered a silent prayer. "If you just let it be, if you don't fear your own fear, you will see that it is harmless," he said. "Fear is simply a response to the unknown. Fear is innocent, it is logical, it's normal not to feel at home with something new right away. Don't fear your enemy, because it is your fear that makes it dark." And so the man opened his eyes and looked at the bear with new eyes. The bear was sitting down now, sniffing the air. It looked so innocent, he almost felt he wanted to watch it for hours. The bear yawned mightily. It turned and walked on. The man noticed it, noticed the sun shining on it's thick oily coat, the sway of its enormous hips as it meandered off into the forest. And the man smiled. Not with relief from being alive, but from the joy of meeting the bear free from fear.

When we meet life free from fear, when we accept life and let go of the fear, we discover deeper and deeper experiences of love and beauty.

Whether we live or "die"

that is only fear

Whether we have or have not

that is only fear

But to accept

to accept and to be

this is the place

that you are free.