... On Failing to Accept
You are going to receive some sincere advice from a real "failure" in today's column. So listen up; much can be learned by those who fail.
Everyone of us has individual "demons" with which we must wrestle on a daily basis. Yours truly is no exception. My personal monster is the inability to accept the "injustices" of the world that surround me.
As a middle-school educator who has always attempted to teach his students the importance of fairness and integrity, I, naturally, was appalled by the hypocrisy of recent historical events in our country. The principles of "equal standards for all" and honesty were totally disregarded for the political well-being of all concerned. Still, I will continue to educate my students to embrace fairness and integrity in their lives.
Unfortunately, I have my darker moments. I was having a political discussion with a gentleman I consider to be a friend -- and a man of the highest moral standards. We disagreed with the particulars of the aforementioned episode in contemporary American history. I lost composure and verbally assaulted him and his views. Later, this writer felt terrible because I realized that I had become emotional about a matter over which I have no control. I failed again.
Learn from this anecdote of failure. Only concern yourself with those trials you must face in life-those in which you have "personal control." They include studying in school, training at wrestling practice, and making the morally-correct choices throughout your lives. To help you with this struggle (one yours truly has yet to conquer), I want to share the following words of wisdom on acceptance.
ACCEPTANCE
"Acceptance is the answer to all m yproblems today. When
I am disturbed it is because I find some person, place, thing,
or situation -- some fact of my life unacceptable to me. I will find
no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation
as being exactly the way it is suppose to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by
mistake. Unless I accept life completely on God's terms, I
cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what
needs to be changed in the world, but on what needs to be
changed in me and my attitudes.
Anonymous