Acceptance and Gratitude

I woke up this morning in a lot of physical pain.

I tried walking to the bathroom but could not except with the help of my wife.

My ankle was slowly getting sorer every day, but today was the day when I could not walk under my own steam.

Thank God for my caring wife.

Yes, I went to the podiatrist and got it evaluated. The result is that there is some issue with my tendon, and I need to wear a boot for three weeks.

I’m only going to complain for a moment. Lots of people have it far worse than me right now.

But I do need to say that it really stinks and that I feel sad about it. Ignoring those feelings or pretending that everything is fine is not good either.

Even getting angry at the situation is probably healthy right now.

Anger, sadness, and frustration are a part of life. They are normal healthy feelings.

I know people who pretend that situations that are awful are not a problem. I don’t think that’s healthy.

What I’m trying to convey is that the way through this situation is acceptance and gratitude.

Acceptance and gratitude.

Two very powerful words that bring me back to my spiritual center every time.

In fact, I am going to utter a prayer by my dear friend and Rev. Chris Jackson. He says that one of his favorite prayers is, “Thank you God.”

Thank you God.

Yes, even during a difficult situation I can have gratitude.

The reason that gratitude works so well is that it sends a signal to the universe that I am going to take this uncomfortable situation and do something good with it. Thank you tells the energy around me to support me. A simple thank you tells the energy in the spiritual realm that I am ready for whatever is next.

In order to have gratitude I must as I stated earlier be willing to honestly feel my feelings.

Get angry. Feel sad. Express my frustration. Deal with the feelings that come up as a result of this challenge that is being placed before me. The key for me around feelings is to feel them in a way that is nurturing to myself and doesn’t cause any harm to the people around me.

After I feel my feelings appropriately, I can move into acceptance.

Acceptance comes when I know that there is really nothing I can do about something except to accept it.

This is when the healing begins to take place.

I need to emphasize that acceptance does not imply inaction. When I decided to call the podiatrist about my foot I had already moved into acceptance. I accepted that I need outside help. I accepted that I cannot fix whatever is going on with my foot. I also accepted that I would need to take his advice regarding the treatment plan. This is acceptance in action. Acceptance means acting and letting go of the results.

Acceptance takes faith. A lot of it.

This acceptance has moved me into gratitude. I am grateful for my loving wife, health insurance, a good doctor, medical intervention, that I can still work virtually from home, that I have a comfortable couch to sit on at home, and that I now get to spend a ton of time on writing for the next three weeks. Things could be much worse. Really. Much worse.

I share this story with you today, because I bet you have something in your life that you’re struggling with. Maybe it’s a health issue, financial stress, or a spiritual issue.

I know in my heart of hearts that you were led to this article because you want to experience that gratitude and acceptance.

I pray that my story helps you to remember that you don’t have to be happy with your situation to have acceptance and gratitude. You don’t have to agree or like it at all.

I do believe that if you choose acceptance and can move into gratitude that your situation will become a learning opportunity.

Here I sit on my couch writing this. I have no idea what the lesson is in all of this regarding my foot. But I do know that some deep learning will come out of this. I will grow and be a better person for having gone through it.

I will take Chris Jackson’s advise and say, “Thank you God.”

I will watch, and let God work magic in this situation.