"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today..." Big Book
Probably the word acceptance is one that we hear most often in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. Although one might argue that gratitude's right up there with it.
Whatever the case, acceptance has an important place in the lives of those of us in recovery and especially for me.
Because until I accept what's going on in my life, whatever challenges I'm facing, there's not really a path to a solution. But bingo, as soon as I accept whatever it is that I'm facing then I can set about resolving it.
My DNA tells me to fight and resist everything until I get my way. But that old thinking pattern is what used to get me into a lot of trouble. It took me many years and lots of internal battles before I realized that most of the things I used to think were important weren't such big deals after all.
And as soon as I changed my thinking, my life became much easier and less stressful. In fact, these days, it's pretty easy for me to analyze whatever I'm facing and decide whether it's worth fighting about in short order. Once I cross the bridge into acceptance, then potential solutions begin presenting themselves. Sometimes the answers come to me while I'm sleeping or just daydreaming and not even looking for a solution.
For me, there's almost something magical about acceptance because it's the quickest shortcut to serenity.
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