Welcome to the Becoming The Change Podcast. Each daily reading focuses on a different quote on how we can best apply it to our own moral compass and one of the five areas in Social Emotional Learning: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills and Responsible Decision Making. Thank you for listening and we hope you consider subscribing to the podcast for future episodes.
Refusal Before Acceptance
“For a very long time everybody refuses and then almost without a pause everyone accepts.”
-Gertrude Stein
It is often said that resistance is futile. In other words it is pointless. When I read or hear American novelist Gertrude Stein’s quote for today what resonated with me is that many of us spend so much wasted time refusing to accept others by putting up unnecessary walls or barriers because of certain known or unknown prejudices. Essentially it is the fear of someone being different from us, how they may look or what they believe in. I think this type of thinking is very short sighted because we should always be willing accept others with arms wide open as we would want others to do the same. I think it is that fear of change within ourselves that some are most afraid of because it is unknown what that specific change might be. I believe if we trust our hearts that change will be for the better.
In 2018 Adam Brady wrote an entry on Chopra.com about 7 steps of how we can better learn to embrace acceptance. Acceptance of others. Acceptance of ourselves:
1. Acceptance Is a Choice to Change Yourself-It doesn’t necessarily mean you like things as they are; you can certainly wish for things to be different.
2. Resisting Acceptance Is Born from the Ego-When your awareness is established in your soul, the ego’s voice falls away, making acceptance more accessible.
3. Acceptance Is a Good Use of Your Energy-Acceptance harnesses the more subtle principles of timing and finesse to permit things to be as they are so you can expend your energy in other ways that will more effectively help you fulfill your desires.
4. Acceptance Is Aligned with the Laws of Nature-By going with what life offers you in this moment, you flow down the river of life rather than trying to swim against the current.
5. Acceptance Implies Adaptability-As martial artist Bruce Lee so famously said, “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.”
6. Acceptance Does Not Mean Passivity-It implies a more skillful approach to getting your needs met and embracing the present moment fully. Know which battles are worth fighting.
7. Acceptance Is an Acquired and Perishable Skill-It takes work and regular practice to override your natural tendency to force changes on the outside world. Acceptance must be practiced on a daily basis.
It is my hope that these 7 steps will guide you to becoming more acceptable of others and less likely to default to the mode of refusal right away.
What does this quote mean to you and how can you apply today’s message towards becoming more socially aware?
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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Relaxing Piano Music” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
A special thank you to Feedspot for recognizing the Becoming The Change podcast as one of the Top 10 Social Emotional Learning Podcasts on the internet. It is an honor to be amongst the other podcasts on this list as we all strive to make this world a better place.
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