Idiots and Acceptance
Have you met an idiot today? Chances are you have. How about the guy who parks in between two parking spots, or the woman who yammers on her cell phone at the library? Jerk is a nice word to use, I think. Maybe you can think of a more colorful word to use as well.
How about that ridiculous talk radio station some people listen to? Pretentious political pundits from the opposition party, perpetually spinning the news their way. Isn’t it obvious that they are out for their own political gain? People like that are destroying the country!
Do you think this way? Many of us do. There is no shortage of idiots in the world, no shortage of people to wrinkle our noses. But after a moment, they are gone, and we are left with a funny-looking nose. If you are comfortable with turning up your nose, that’s up to you. If you’re looking for another option, there are many. Here is one.
There is no question that the world is full of opportunities to find fault in others. People make mistakes often. It would be nice if they didn’t. Or, at least, it would be nice if we didn’t have to be the ones to deal with other people’s indiscretions, insensitivities, or inadequacies. Personally, not a day goes by that there isn’t someone I wish I could change. But I can’t. We can’t. And wishing we can is just a way of staying stuck in our frustrations, spinning our wheels like a Smart Car trying to get out of a ditch. Not pretty.
Are you familiar with the Serenity Prayer? It begins, “God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change.” What are things we cannot change? People, their actions, or bad situations; the weather, perhaps, or politics. Most of us are not in a position to change those things. And this prayer tells us to ask for help with acceptance. Why would we want to accept a bad situation? Isn’t that like giving it our stamp of approval?
Not really. We are not condoning the situation. When we accept, we don’t say “I like this”, or, “It’s okay with me”. Instead, we say, “I do not like this, and I would change it if I could. But I can’t. So I am choosing to let go of being upset, for it will only harm me and diminish my effectiveness in areas of life that I can actually do something about”.
Acceptance is conservation of energy. Think of it as going green instead of turning red. Instead of running off our mouth at our latest grievance, we can focus on what we can change. And there is so much we can change. Let’s do what we can, and let go of what we can’t.