Grace Through Acceptance

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

-- Eckhart Tolle

Admittedly, this is a hard one. Most of us have at least one thing in our lives that we find totally unacceptable. Many of us have alot more than one! And yet, whatever it is that we find unacceptable still exists. Our unacceptance doesn't change it, reduce it or make it go away. In fact, it may do just the opposite -- unacceptance may help to lock things into their current state, as well as lock us into a mental state of resistance or denial.

Don't mistake acceptance for approval. Just becasue you accept that someone is a racst doesn't mean that you approve of their racism. Just because you accept that globabl warming is happening doesn't mean that you accept that the destruction of the planet is inevitable. Acceptance is merely a nod to Reality that says "I know you exist and I will no longer fight to deny your existance." You may still move to change Reality, but you will no longer tie up your energy by denying, condemning or opposing It.

Acceptance is about letting go of judgement against, but not losing discernment about. I don't think that Eckhart Tolle is asking you to enter that airy, fairy land where eveything is seen as oh-so perfect and problems are totally glossed over. He's recommending clear vision, not rose-colored glasses.

And what grows out of this clear vision of acceptance? Ah, that's the beauty of it all -- grace. Grace abounds all around. Grace for both the acceptor and the acceptee. By accepting the unacceptable, you become a channel through which grace enters the world and nourishes both you and the person, thing, or situation that you previously found to be so unaacaptable. It's a profound, visceral grace that you can feel seep deep down into your mind, deep down into your bones. It's a releasing and a letting go of contraction, of resistance, of judgement.

Don't take my word for it, or even Eckhart's. Perform your own little Grace experiment. Just for today, move towards accepting something that you had previously labeled "unacceptable." The "thing" that you are now willing to accept can be in the external world, in another person, or even in yourself. Oh, yes! Imagine the Grace you would feel if you truly and fully accepted yourself!