Acceptance Was The Answer

Jeremy E.

When life changes drastically it can be a hard thing to accept.

It's a natural tendency to resist change. For most of us, our sense of security is found in the familiarity of our routines. When those routines are disrupted by life, death, or other circumstances, it can really throw us off.

Adapting to the new norm can be difficult. Making adjustments in the present can make you feel like you're being unfaithful to your memories of the past.

Like it or not, acceptance was/is the answer.

According to the Big Book of A.A. on page 417, it states,

“Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation—some fact of my life—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and my attitudes.” The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition, Page 417

I define acceptance as a mental and emotional commitment to making peace with my present circumstances. I have to accept that I can not change what has happened, but I can change my thoughts and how I relate to those past events.

So that's where I am at today.

Acceptance is the answer. After all, whining, pouting, and engaging in prolonged self-pity doesn't work for me. I must accept what is, because I can not change the past, no matter how traumatic it is or attached to it I might've been. I can only make peace with it and learn how to live again as I adjust my life and expectations to embrace this new reality with faith and confident expectation.

I am grateful for reconnecting with old friends, making new friends, and for all that God has for me in the days ahead.

I am now living on life's terms, not my own.

Much Love,
Jeremy E.