Acceptance

The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one. - Martin Luther King. Jr - 

Accepting something, anything for that matter, according to me is a sign of strength. The word in itself has an array of meanings that can be looked at from different angles. And it can complicate matters. But then living without acceptance will mess things up even more. How often do we accept what's right in front of us, as it is ? Without attempting to rebel against it, change it, get rid of it, ignore it. Be it a situation, a mediocre sandwich ( which would be one without cheese and black olives if you ask me), a person, acceptance without questioning is not something we're experts in. Which is fine because everyone has their doubts about whether it's okai or not, whether it'll be appreciated or not. But then you lose out. On so much.

With your life, how often do you just accept things as they come? For the most part, I've always lived by the policy of "go with the flow" and "live in the now". It's not as easy and chilled out as it sounds, but it works once you get the hang of it. Acceptance automatically happens when you stop wanting everything in the world that everyone else has. Or forget everyone else, even just the constant "I want's" lead to us realizing that things aren't good enough, when in truth, they're as good as they're gonna get for the moment.

It's a lesson I've learnt over the years, sometimes the hard way. I've mentioned haven't I, how I have always felt different from other people around me? Somehow I never fit into any group or 'gang' as you may call it. And as a kid, I'd always wonder whether I was too many kinds of loopy to be accepted by the monster we call "society". Let me tell you, society is a cruel cruel thing. It sets out rules of how you should look, how you should walk, places excessive emphasis on gender roles despite the advancement and major changes in the 21st century, heck society even tells you how you need to pee and what to believe in.

It's when I grew up that I came to the realization that I don't really care what society thinks of me. Everyone's different and that's the first thing that has to be accepted. You can't change a person. And after a point, I stopped bothering. I was always myself and I have always been myself. I have never conformed to things that are a fad, that are 'in' or just something I don't believe in at all.  This kind of goes back to one of my first posts " Confessions Of A Teetotaler " doesn't it?

I find people worry too much about other people or to make it simple "society" accepting them. It doesn't matter. What really matters is accepting yourself. One of my many hobbies. But it took me a long, long time. I always say, 'you can be your own best friend or your worst enemy". It's insane how true that is!  I've had people call me 'masculine' a lot of the time, calling me snobbish ( one of the reasons for that is because I was born in Australia and my allegiance is with Oz. Immaturity at its best ), I'd even get called a flirt solely because I was around the guys all the time. It is important to maintain a certain reputation, agreed, but the rest, is all a load of pig's arse. Accepting who you are, where you come from and what you stand for is your answer to making everything else good in your life and the rest will just follow.

Accepting other people? Is a must. Or you'll just end up alone. Brutal as it may sound, that is the truth. People don't like being changed. Like when people tell me I should start listening to 'softer' music because death growls just sound like people throwing up or when people tell me I'm missing out on SO much because I'm a vegetarian, all that's going on in my head is, " I'm going to make a gorilla fart on you". Even if you're really close to someone, it's fine to make suggestions, but accepting them as they are and working around that is essential.

BUT. Yes there's always a but. This is where accepting criticism comes in too. Accepting the good also means accepting the bad. If someone criticizes or says something not in your favour, if you feel it's off, ignore it. But if when it's said, it actually makes you speechless for (five second rule applies here) then maybe it's a sign for you to accept what's been pointed out and what needs to be done.

Accepting change, accepting the same, accepting the right with the wrong. You'll find your life heading down a road of simplicity and peace once you learn to genuinely accept

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