It is said all roads lead to Rome, and I think the same could be said about the road to Mindfulness. When I think of my own mindfulness journey I recognise acceptance, and my understanding of what is meant by mindful acceptance, as being a foundation concept of my practice. I find we often misunderstand being asked to accept something or someone as meaning we have to like it or, at the very least, put up with it. The literal meaning of acceptance is something like ‘consent to receive what is offered’, it doesn’t say anything about admitting defeat, or getting away ‘scott free’, or liking what is offered. When we open our self to accepting what life offers us we acknowledge present reality, and we can then begin to make room in our lives for what we can and can’t change. When I struggle with acceptance I remind myself of the first few lines of The Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.
