The Truth About Acceptance and Letting Go on Life's Journey 🌿

waihin (59)in Incredible India • 14 days ago (edited)

Our lives are constantly changing, but we rarely know which things to cling to and which ones to release in order for your mind to ever be at peace.

In fact, you're unlikely to discover that until you get good at navigating life's twists and turns with more ease than before. Here are 5 philosophies to have in your back pocket with real-world examples:

1. What You Once Had – Keep as a Memory

Everything comes to an end one way or another.

When I was going through university, there were people who became really close friends. They shared every part of their lives – eating, studying, traveling – everyday. Fast forward years later after graduation when we all went into working, our contact decreased and soon enough we stopped being close friends anymore.

At first, I was very sad because I thought “Oh! My friends forgot me… These were the days when I had a lot of fun… Now these things can’t come again!”

The Lesson: Later on I got this lesson. When you understand the concept of change you won’t feel sad looking at your old time. I didn’t get all the lessons from this incident but still I am trying my best. So please don’t lose hope and learn from the mistakes. If you feel anything then share it here in comments. Let’s try to make it together.

2. What You Currently Have – Treasure It

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In general, most of us tend to think about our shortcomings rather than appreciating everything we have in life.

A few years back I was obsessed with getting promotions & more money at work. Coming home from office, I hardly paid attention to the hot dinner my wife prepared for me. My kids were eager to play with me but instead of playing with them I told them “I’m too busy”.

But one day my wife got hospitalized as she wasn’t feeling well. Looking at an empty house after she was hospitalised overwhelmed me with regret.

The Lesson: My lesson from this was that I realize how much human beings can be silly. We tend to see the importance of all those things once they’ve been taken away. We need to cherish what we have now, which includes our loved ones being around. I hope you don’t fall into the trap of losing them because you’re always looking forward, instead of living now – grateful for what’s here.

3. What You Have Lost — Forget It

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Impermanence is an ultimate truth of our world – whether we are leaving for good because of Karma or circumstances, looking back won’t make us move forwards.

Once my brother decided to invest all his hard earned savings into a business venture which later on turned out to scam and lost all his money.

After being devastated by his loss he got trapped in his past & spent most of time inside the house thinking about “My money is gone” but after his mentor said to him, “If you continue gazing at your money whatever happened you're gonna waste your future.” He came out of his depression.

The Lesson: Dwelling upon our loss leads us to lose what we have now and also the chance of the future. Forget about all the losses of the past and release them for when we are empty handed regarding our past’s regrets, then we shall be able to hold up the future.

4. What You Haven't Achieved Yet — Keep Trying

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A dream does not come true when you wait for it to happen but you need to take action steps.

My closest friend always had an ultimate dream of being a Software Developer in one of those top tech companies. But whenever we would apply for jobs, all the applications were getting rejected. So instead of sitting idle saying I am unlucky, my friend identified his weak points, sacrificed sleep at nights and started working on his newly learned skills to code. Six months later he cracked the interview & got placed at the same company where he used to wish. 🙌🏻!

The Lesson: If you have not reached those objectives yet then there is nothing more important than having hope and trying again. Reflecting upon what is lacking, building up those skills that are required and continuing with determination can never be undermined. There's no such thing as putting too much effort into something, because at some point down the track, all of this will come back around to you in some form or another.

5. What Is Unattainable — Let It Be (Equanimity)

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We all know there are some flowers which lie out of our reach. There will be some situations where you can’t balance them. If you try to force yourself acquiring those things which are under others’ control, then it would make you exhausted.

My younger sister always wanted to get along well with every individual working around her. Unfortunately, she had this one colleague who developed an inexplicable hatred towards her from the beginning, making her experience several difficulties in her professional career on account of the same.

After trying everything she could possibly think of to change his opinion about her and secure his appreciation for her hard work, I finally figured out why she kept stressing herself over such issues! Because ultimately, “She couldn’t control other’s minds” – that’s the biggest mistake she made throughout her profession! As soon as she decided to overlook the hostile attitude from him and let it go, her stress vanished altogether!

The Lesson: Forget about things that you can’t control – things that aren’t even your business. Letting go of unattainables is just as much a sign of inner strength and courage as anything else you might try doing. Practice equanimity (disregard things you can’t change) and see how your mind finds an irreplaceable sense of peace.