I think this point of view may be good for things you can't change, but for things you can change it cuts off a valuable human motivator: noticing the difference between what we have and what we want.
"Accepting" being overweight or poor seems like a shortcut of our ability to effect change in our lives. My happiness expands every time I take action to bring me from where I am to where I want to be in every area of my life. It is not a "war" inside myself. IMO Sunnis don't want to kill Shias because I don't like my "spare tire". (I'm getting on my Nordic Track right now so stop shooting!) This verges on solipsism and seems a bit manipulative of the audience. to me. My life has never been harmed by feeling the pain of what I lack. It is vastly improved by noticing what I can do to make my life closer to what I dream and pain is a valuable part of that process. I don't need to accept my current level of achievement in any area, that is what drugs or drinking can bring, complacency. It is sometimes hard to be motivated enough to change and pain is my friend, it is not an inner struggle. More like an inner coach who helps me be the best me I can be. (Sir, yes sir, thank you sir may I have another!) I'm not going for the nipple clips thank you, but the pain of the inner conflict between what I have and what I want helps me guide my ship through life. Now accepting that I will never be taller seems like a good use of this perspective. (although I just got an exciting email spam that promises just that!) (or was it promising "longer"?) Of course I may have missed his and your point completely... --- In [email protected], "tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Rory writes snipped: > Anyone can react against the evil out there and act to change it, and > most do. More power to them! But IME it takes real courage to root > out the evil where it actually lies -- in our own beliefs, our own > thoughts. That's when we truly end the war. > > Right action continues, as always. And IME the actions arising from > Love and Peace and Bliss are infinitely more effective than those > arising from pain and suffering and contempt and hatred -- i.e. from > false beliefs and projections :-) > > TomT; > I had the opportunity to spend an entire weekend with Byron Katie > working on Loving What IS. At the conclusion she asked three questions > Who is happy with their weight? Who is happy with the way they look or > their appearance? Who is happy with the amount of money they have? If > you were happy then leave hands down. If not happy then put the hands > up. When she finished the third question about 97 out of 100 hands > were up in the air. These folks had just finished a ton of exercises > trying to get how to be happy with what is and they were willing to > state publicly they didn't get it. Byron looked around the room and > made the statement that when you are willing to give up the war within > yourself the war in Iraq and the rest of the world would end. The > outer is just a mirror for the internal landscape. The audience was > stunned and began to get that you can not fix anything outside > yourself if you have not done the work on the inside and stopped that > internal war. Those who insist that the outside needs to be fixed are > unwilling to do what it takes inside and would rather put it out side > themselves and continue in denial that they are the root cause and effect. >
