Blog#216--The Key to Peace and Love is Acceptance

I spent a great deal of time talking about acceptance in the book “It’s a Secret, So Pass It On: a Toolbox For Life.” It is an important aspect of spirituality that is largely under-taught by religious and civic leaders. In fact, we simply cannot have true love or peace without it.

Acceptance is becoming increasingly difficult for many people around the world right now; there seems to be little chance of peace or opportunity for growth for many. The recent US presidential election was guaranteed to create turmoil because the choice for president was limited to two representatives of the financial elite, both competing for control of the populace and using deceit and intimidation as their most consistent tools. No matter who won, many were going to be upset. Even more will become upset once they see what the new leaders really have planned for their country and the world.

Acceptance is the answer for everyone, and not just those who will be on the gravy train arranged by and for the financial elite. We can’t find our natural commonality with others if we don’t first accept their right to be themselves. A further discussion of acceptance might help a few concerned citizens make lemonade out of lemons even during the darkest of times.

A family member reminded me of this recently. He had been caught driving under the influence of alcohol and was required to give up his driver’s license. Since he lived alone and had no transportation, he had to use a public bus system and leg power to get around. He did the community service required of him, attended the psychology sessions considered necessary to change future behavior, and paid all the fines. After three years of struggle, he was given back his driver’s license, but by then he had become accustomed to doing without a car. He lived that way four more years before he finally saw the value of obtaining a vehicle.

When asked about his experiences, he said the key to his peace of mind and overall survival was to accept his situation the way it was and allow it to exist without complaint or rebellion. Once he accepted things as they were, he was able to adapt easily to his changed situation. Now, he has self-confidence he could never have enjoyed otherwise. Now he knows he can adapt to the many changes our lives require of us. Transforming bitterness into acceptance was the solution.

I described in the book how I one day realized my mother’s spirit was trying to communicate with me. Her energy enveloped me in unconditional love the instant I accepted the fact she was right there. Likewise, during my explosion of awareness, once I accepted I was a natural behaviorist, I was. It felt like an energy gate opened; the resulting connection to infinite knowledge helped me find solutions to behavior problems.

It’s easy to say we accept something, but this is not the same as truly embracing the concept. Many Christians are asked, “Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior?” To a person, they all answer in the affirmative. But for most of us, this statement implies a dependence on a supreme being that we must follow to go to Heaven and avoid Hell. The key to the statement isn’t the name Jesus Christ. That is important, but the key word is “acceptance.” When we truly accept Jesus Christ as our savior, what we are really doing is accepting our own Christ consciousness, that which is one with our creator source. We embrace that oneness as equals, not inferiors. True acceptance gives us access to our own perfection.

I’m not sure we can accept something or someone merely by saying we do so. Like everything else, it likely occurs at times programmed into our lives before birth. But we can strive for it by looking for our commonality with others rather than our differences. We can work toward creating a better world through love. Wars don’t work. Violent protests don’t work. Killing or otherwise punishing our enemies doesn’t work. Love unites us.

If we truly want a more peaceful world, we must be prepared to accept all the trials and tribulations that role requires. Without fear, hate, distrust and the other negative emotions, we can even learn to love those who wish us harm. That would likely confuse them, but it might also defuse some of their most violent tendencies. Regardless, it would do each of us a world of good.

I realize the last thing many of us wish to do at this time is work on ourselves, but that must be part of the process. Those who stand to benefit from the next four or more years may see no need for this. But those who are struggling to survive can learn to let go of their fear of death once they accept the reality of eternal life. Again, that means embracing eternity as our true home, our true nature.

Many of us are beginning to discover that our usual ways of perceiving the world aren’t working for us. We may need to let go of that which isn’t giving us peace of mind or solutions to our problems. Once we accept the need to reconsider our priorities and belief systems, we can begin to make process. There are alternative ways of viewing ourselves and our world; my book offers some suggestions along those lines. When we are ready for new ideas, they will be there waiting for us. Come on in, the water is fine.

The 11/12/2016 episode of the “Saturday Night Live” television show gave us an example of what we might do to let go of any blood lust over the election results. The cold opening, rather than going for laughter as usual, was a beautiful way of creating a peaceful heart in the midst of turmoil. Kate McKinnon sang Leonard Cohen’s beautiful and moving song “Hallelujah.” It was a fitting tribute to the legendary poet and songwriter who died last week, and much more.

All fall, the cold opening of each episode dealt with the presidential race by providing funny caricatures of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. McKinnon’s song was a sharp contrast, providing a sense of peace we all must seek to embrace as we prepare for difficult times ahead. It went a long way toward opening the hearts and rebalancing the minds of those who heard it. If a few more people begin to demonstrate the same love and peaceful intent in their words and actions, perhaps behavioral extremes can be minimized. Love and acceptance are necessary to transform our limited ego perspective into a oneness with All That Is.

SNL no longer has the election to parody. McKinnon can no longer be seen on a regular basis in her classic Hillary Clinton role. If SNL and McKinnon can adapt that quickly and learn to accept election results, then perhaps we can also. Acceptance is Love is Eternal Life. That is far more important than who wins an election or what destruction occurs secondary to it.

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