What Is the Greatest Benefit of Accepting What Is?

Even a dead spider in a pristine bathtub

I didn't take a photo of the spider in the bathtub, but here's one of Evergreen at sundown last summer. Life is complex and beautiful. Let's accept what happens and bring more grace into the world.

Today I came across a quote from Eckart Tolle:

Acceptance of the unacceptable is the greatest source of grace in this world.

Accepting what is has become a catchphrase for modern spirituality. One day I expect to see it blazoned on a billboard along Stirling Highway, blocking my view of the Indian Ocean.

Although it's an easy thing to say - Accept what is - it can be hard to do.

But I want to do more accepting what is because this world is in need of a lot more grace.

Before I get into an example of a time when I didn't accept what is, I'll explain what grace is,

because if we know what grace is and what it does, we'll be more inclined to allow more of it to spill out of us.

Merriam-Webster definitions for grace include this:

an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency

We all love to be the recipient of kindness, courtesy, or clemency.

Here is an example from my life when I wasn't a source of these wonderful things.

A few years ago, Rob and I arrived at our expensive holiday apartment.

I strolled through the lounge, noting the charming, charcoal-coloured loveseat sofa. A peek in the bedroom showed a king-size bed with a voluptuous mountain of pillows, a chocolate bedtime snack snuggling next to the minimalist night-light, and a sliver of strawberry-flavoured, heart-shaped soap atop a towel big enough to swallow me twice.

This was all very delightful, and I oozed acceptance of what is from the top of my grey-haired head to the rounded tips of my burgundy toenails. If someone had tipped me up like a milk jug, I would’ve poured out gallons of grace, enough to drown the room.

But then I glanced in the ensuite to ensure there was the promised spa. There was. But nestling near its plughole was a giant, dead spider.

Acceptance and grace disappeared, to be replaced by horror closely followed by annoyance, and a desire to give the Management a peppery report, after which I expected a groveling apology.

In those few seconds I sensed the change in me from acceptance to non-acceptance.

Suddenly my mind ricocheted with angry, indignant thoughts. Blood pressure rose. Eyes popped. Jaw muscles clenched.

If I’d been an army general or a desperate dictator, shots would have been fired.

How quickly my little life reflected TV's nightly news.

This is a petty example when I consider the graceless state of the larger world, with its wars, corruption, politics, and media hype. But sometimes the only way to bring great ideas into focus is to see how they apply in the nitty gritty of our personal, everyday lives.

The Greatest Benefit of Accepting What Is

 Accepting what is doesn’t mean we condone, encourage, be complacent about or turn a blind eye to whatever happens, whether it be injustice or an overlooked janitorial issue like a dead spider spread-eagled in an otherwise pristine bathtub.

Accepting what is does mean giving ourselves an immediate breathing space to access a deep well of wisdom not available to our manic minds which tend to automatically put us into reactive overdrive.

Accepting what is happens in a moment. Accepting what is isn’t ongoing.

Accepting what is enables a response, rather than a reaction.

You don’t see a person being attacked, accept that it is happening and walk on, bathed in acceptance. But nor do you fill your mind with non-acceptance, which lets in waves of anger, panic and fear.

You accept what you see and calmly decide what is the best thing you can do now to help change the situation.

Accepting what is isn’t being complaisant.

Accepting what is is being powerful.

It’s powerful because it doesn't shut us down. It immerses us in the invisible energetic spring of possibility.

Another Merriam-Webster definition for grace is this:

unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification

Ahh! Accepting what is immerses us in the invisible energetic spring of possibility, which is another way of referring to the divine.

Accepting what is enables us to be the source of divine assistance to humans, in other words, to ourselves and others.

When we accept what is we are a source of grace.

It changes our lives and changes the world.

The world needs more grace.

Let’s each find a way to give it some today.

Back to the spider in the tub. Rob tenderly removed it and put it under a bush in the pretty garden. As we were leaving the next day I complimented Management on the very pleasant apartment. Grace danced between us, making the world sweet. I didn't mention the spider. Death is a part of Life. You can't have one without the other.

With love, Marlane