Pure of Intention : Acceptance

There is much good that can come from accepting what is.

As I mowed the lawn this afternoon (first time in 3 years !!), I started to reflect on what it means to truly accept what is. These past few days, my dear husband has been grumbling about how hard he has been working to keep up with the yard work and indirectly implying that as of late, I haven’t been doing much to contribute to the cause. Now you need to understand that we have been together for 34 years, so I know him pretty well. Today I had a choice to make. I could continue to listen to him grumble or, I could bite the bullet and challenge myself with the task at hand. I woke up feeling strong and I decided it was time to give it a go. God knows I didn’t want to have to listen to him complain til death do us part because sadly ….he would have !

I have many stories I could share about how throughout my life, I have chosen to accept what is and the significant impact it’s had on my life experience.

Some of you may be familiar with this one, as I like to share it now and again when someone is in need a good laugh.

Many years ago when my 3 girlies were very wee ( 1, 3 and 5 years old), my husband came down to the kitchen. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was busy in the prepping for the day …lunches, diaper bag, knapsacks etc. You know, a typical morning in the life of a working mom. I had been up since 5am (always started off with a soak in the tub to contemplate life and sort out all of my problems, followed by a freshly brewed cup of coffee – both essential ingredients to my survival!). He looked at me and said “Karine….there are no more socks left in my sock drawer”. Hmmmmmm. Silence. Finally, he turned around and went back upstairs. Hmmmmm what to do ? I quietly dropped what I was doing, put on my coat and boots and grabbed the keys to the car. I drove to a spot where I was out of sight, sat quietly, waiting patiently for the show to begin. Finally he emerged from the house with knapsacks, diaper bag and children in tow. Totally worth the wait.

Hmmm choice number two, should I call in sick or go to work ? Of course I chose work (not too sure I would make the same decision today !).

End of day as I exited the highway choice number 3 …. Right ( home ) or left (my favourite restaurant where they served the best Chardonnay ever)?? Definitely left. I proceeded to order a wonderful meal that I didn’t have to make and had not one but two glasses of wine.

Final decision of the day. Should I rent a fancy hotel room that I couldn’t afford or return to my lovely family? In that moment, I accepted that my husband had no concept of what I did on an average day and that chances were he never would. In my experience, men are anything but multitaskers, able to focus on one thing at a time, if you’re lucky (sorry fellows). The sooner one accepts this, the less grumpy one will feel. It’s really quite freeing. I must mention that it was years before I ever folded another pair of Sergios socks and to this day, I still think twice.

I truly believe that we are still married because we both have the capacity to accept what is and choose to let our love for one another prevail. My obsession with pillows, tea towels and ferns would be enough to drive anyone insane and I have been known to sneak in the odd piece of furniture when no one is looking 🙂

As human beings, I think we struggle to accept what is. Whether it’s our physical appearance, family situation, work or the fact that we’re getting old. We don’t want, what we don’t want. Suffering is to be avoided at all cost. In my life, I’ve learned that it can be an opportunity to experience an entirely new world, if we let it.

These past few years I’ve learned to accept what is. I got sick with Covid, my doctor didn’t believe me and I retired from a job I loved. There have been days when I have felt so discouraged because I haven’t been able to do the things I used to love to do. Things definitely didn’t go as planned.

Experiencing Covid for a second time, I have the advantage of being able to compare round one with round two and I can honestly say, this time is different because I’m not the same person. Of course it’s not the same variant but, the long lasting symptoms I have experienced have been the same (pain and fatigue). This time, I’m not fighting it and I am far more accepting . If I start to feel fearful or tearful, I press pause and breathe. I don’t know how long it will last this time round but I am no longer in the grip of it because why ? I choose to acceptance.

Accepting what is can change our entire life experience. Heck I mowed the lawn today and I feel fantastic! Here’s to living in the moment.

Thank you Sergio 🙂

K