Two choices: Acceptance or Resistance

I enjoy seeing my life's choices as simply as possible. I like it when things aren't complicated, and when it comes to dealing with the challenges that show up periodically, acceptance or resistance are what I see as my two choices. Of course, there is typically some follow up action that is required, but that seems much easier to carry out, if acceptance is my choice.

First, let's take a closer look at resistance. It takes quite a bit of energy to resist and it can be exhausting. We can resist by holding back or pushing against. Either way, it feels hard, and while we are doing it, we feel off centered and uncomfortable. Fear is often an accomplice to resistance. We may be afraid of change, of losing something or someone, or sometimes we may simply have a general fear of the unknown.

When we focus on acceptance, we feel more peaceful, relaxed and more at ease. We expend less energy, so therefore we are likely to physically feel stronger. We can experience a sense of relief and surrender as though when there is nothing to fight against, the war ends and peace prevails.

To those that would counter this opinion with a concern that acceptance means giving up, I'd like to distinguish the difference between accepting what is and then responding accordingly, and resisting what is and reacting from fear. Acceptance creates more room for us to show up as who we really are, whereas resistance diminishes our personal power.