When you believe that something is temporary, you can accept its differences. You can accept the place, person or situation exactly how they are and how they are showing up in your life. You don’t feel constricted because you know that soon, like most things, this too will change.
When you arrive in a new place, you aren’t trying to make it be exactly like you, because that’s the magic of it, it’s completely different and you accept that and appreciate the differences. It’s the same feeling as when you’re in the middle of summer, you become friends with those that you may have seen as different to you during the rest of the year. This is because you give yourself the permission to accept them for who they are and how they are showing up in your life, because it feels temporary. This is why the summer relationship may feel so blissfully intense; the walls are torn down and you enjoy the person for who they are because you aren’t trying to change them for the future. It’s easier to open up and fully show up for a situation when you know that later down the track you’re off the hook if things don’t work out. This flows out onto other experiences, for example a hostel roommate that you meet while traveling. They are totally different and unique, yet you embrace that about them. You embrace it with a different amount of acceptance than you may have if you showed up to your first day of college and met them, knowing that you would need to be roommates for the rest of the year.
What if we accepted what showed up in our life like we are in the middle of summer, or a traveler in a new place?
We can get uncomfortable when things are different or when we’re trying to control them, because we are resisting them for what they are. But first, instead of running or trying to change things, what if you tried to embrace it so that you could see it for what it is? Things are always changing, and will always continue to change. If you step back from a situation, and embrace that feeling from the perspective that you might have had when you felt like you were only in a situation for a short time, you can feel the acceptance. What feels different from you or what is bringing up resistance, may actually turn back into appreciation and love.
How do you embrace it?
You go all in.
You consciously make an effort in each encounter to accept the place, person or situation for exactly what they are. Rather than resisting it, you open up to it. You do this by just acknowledging that you are open to accepting it. You don’t need to know how, or feel like it needs to happen over night, but by making the choice to accept it you are already there; the wheels are turning, the acceptance begins to stir and love can come to the table.
Once you feel like the resistance is gone, you can then notice if your gut is telling you that it’s time to let it go. Is something else calling you? Does something different excite you? It’s ok to allow that feeling to surface, and it will be coming from a more neutral playing field because when you aren’t trying to resist something, your genuine feelings and perspective can arise.
