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Share Your Story…

It was the last 2kms of our 4-day trek to Chandrashila (12000ft) in Uttarakhand. We had a turnaround time and I had to decide on whether I would continue because my fellow trekkers were waiting. I had already trekked for 4 hours and I broke down because the summit was just 2kms away and I was tired.

At that moment a friend who had been with me since the beginning of the trek became a living inspiration. We had been together for the last 4 days and she was ever so quiet. She shared brief stories from her previous treks and a little bit more. She trekked alone and was superb in descent.

That is all I knew about her till this moment. She saw me weak and she said softly – “I am a cancer survivor and once I overcame the fear of dying I engaged in every adventure sport because I realized no feeling is worse than the thought that you may JUST die without trying, without experiencing. In the last 2 years, I have done bungee jumping, scuba diving, and treks, because I felt what dying was like.”

That’s it, said nothing more, she smiled with moist eyes, turned around and started trekking. I was stunned and speechless. Suddenly the pain and fatigue seemed nothing. My issues became so petty that I could no longer hold on to them.

She looked back, gestured for me to come along and I resumed. Every step gave pain, and every breath felt heavy but a voice inside kept saying – “I am going to conquer this!”

I came across a post on LinkedIn about how one should share their stories, which may become a survival guide for the other. This article is an inspiration from the same.

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The Voice Inside

Silence and space hold many answers. Why do we feel good on a retreat? Because there are no sounds or commitments. We enjoy the openness of space because otherwise we are bound to our homes and workstations.

When we shut the noise we can hear the voice inside. We can hear the voice inside when we create a space between self and the other.

Most of the time the voice asks us to make tough decisions like –

– Detachment

– Disconnection and

– Discontinuation

from work and people.

The mind is feeble and fears the consequences of the decision, but the voice keeps repeating. Because the voice knows that the reality is not as grave as it seems to the mind. The mind has a habit of overplaying and overimagining. This inner voice keeps you rooted in reality. It clears all the mental drama and

Listening to the voice carefully and upholding what it says requires tremendous courage.

But it is the only way to feel liberated.

Today, listen to the voice and do what it says!

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Importance and Easy Ways for Building Acceptance

Acceptance is a nature, a habit. The way we develop good habits like, eating healthy, sleeping well, and exercising we need to build acceptance. Acceptance is a powerful state which releases energy blocked in the following –

  • Complaints and resentment
  • Continuous hoping for things to be different and
  • Anxiety about the future

These habits drain us of vital energy, and we keep shouldering our responsibilities unenthusiastically. We feel less accomplished despite giving all that we had. But the truth is a large share of our zest for life is consumed by non-acceptance

Social media plays a crucial role in enhancing the state of non-acceptance because we forget that no one is posting their failures. Travel, fashion, family, art, and everything else intimidate and make us dislike our current state.

Developing acceptance is a conscious process that requires time. One factor that gets in our way is that we equate acceptance with surrender. We feel that this habit makes us vulnerable, so we lash back with full strength, only to give in once again because everything in our lives is meant to be just the way it is!

Why is it important to develop acceptance?

Following are some reasons why developing acceptance is important

  • You feel enthusiastic because you accept that you have to work.
  • You are less irritable as there is minimal to zero internal resistance
  • You celebrate the success and achievements of others
  • You direct your energies towards being and not simply doing

The crux is that acceptance brings back the lost joy in our lives. The lingering uneasiness about the past and the future ceases to exist, and we become one with the present, an empowering and powerful state.

How do you develop acceptance?

Developing acceptance is not complicated because it is our true nature. The Universe is designed based on the principles of acceptance, and we are a part of it. Other living beings never question their state or situation and continue to grow.

It is important to uphold our values and beliefs, but unchecked non-acceptance often transforms into a big ego. It is exhausting to fight the world but equally effortless to do all that is in our control with complete acceptance.

Following are some ways to develop acceptance –

  • Understand that it is not a subdued and vulnerable state and consider it the starting point of change.
  • Don’t stick to the perfect solutions and accept that you may need to think and act alternatively
  • Stop looking at any situation as permanent, and know that it is a phase which will pass.
  • Be proud of how far you have come. Change self-pity into self-respect
  • Learn to let go and move on. Acceptance demands complete attention, and we cannot afford to hold on to grudges.
  • Be grateful for what you have so that you can use it to accomplish more.

Acceptance opens the mind to new solutions and helps keep peace inside and outside. Be it macro issues like wars, or micro issues like work pressure, all stem from non-acceptance of the current situation.

Let me end the article on a positive note, requesting you to accept at least one thing that you otherwise resent.