"Accepting everything as it is" is the only option

How can this radically change the way we show up? Plus an announcement

I took the last 10 days off work and everything around me so as to retreat, do some writing, do loads of reading and spend tonnes of hours meditating. I had been looking forward to this for months! But then, what happened? I ended up not writing, I did very little reading and I spent very little time sitting in meditation. Instead, I was met with discomfort and chaos. I will talk about this more but first, I want to tell you this that I am excited about!

Photo by Jeremy Bishop

I have published 80 essays on this platform! Eighty! Eight-zero! I am excited to express that these were 80 pieces shared from my own contemplative practice, through my own direct experience of this unexpressible is-ness! These were eighty pieces that touched the most intimate parts of our experience— from seeking the Mystery, to dealing with heavy and difficult emotions, to prayer, to somatic exercises to contemplative exercises that strengthen our most intimate, most immediate experience, the (un)veiling and realization of who we truly are at the core— this inexpressible selfless Self.

There are a bit of housecleaning things that I’d like to let you in on about Contemplative Currents and one thing I’d like to announce. I have arranged some of the most critical topics of contemplation at the top navigation(if you are viewing this from a web browser). On Surrender, Contemplative Exercises, Christian Mysticism, Dealing with Difficult Emotions are now on the top. So if you want to binge on some of the exercises or bask in the beautiful realization of the Mystery(this Mystery that was hidden for ages and is now revealed in us, as us)!

I also added a tab atop there for Podcast! Yes, that’s right! I will be spending the better part of the holiday season recording a few episodes. They will, of course, be available directly on Substack and they will also be available whereever you podcast. I may also include some of the interviews I’ve been interviewed on(which are probably already available if you searched for my name on your podcast app). I will definitely be adding some of my best interviews, making them available for listening. My intention is to have expanded discussions/narrative contemplation of the experience of Being.

That being said, I will jump immediately into the topic: Accepting things as they are! I particularly will share my experience of the past week.
A few weeks ago, it dawned on me that I hadn’t taken a single vacation the entire year. I’d been so immersed in work and life’s demands that I’d let my accumulated vacation days sit there, unused, almost forgotten. When I finally noticed, I thought, Here’s the perfect chance! Ten whole days stretched ahead of me, and I had grand plans to make the most of them. My intentions were simple and ambitious: dedicate time to put some more writing into my upcoming book, refine my business strategies, savor long periods of silence, and finally dive into the stack of books I’d been meaning to read. It all seemed so perfect in my mind—a self-curated retreat of rest and productivity.

But reality, as it often does, had other plans. Ask me why I couldn’t achieve even half of these! The locations I was in for this retreat—though promising on the surface—turned out to be anything but conducive to the peace and quiet I needed. Instead of the serene environments I envisioned, I found myself surrounded by noise: the banging noise of other guests around, unexpected chatter, and other disruptions I hadn’t accounted for. Far from being restorative, the interruptions meant I struggled even to fall asleep, let alone settle into the deep focus required for writing or reading.

On top of that, my body decided to add its voice to the chaos. I began experiencing discomfort that I suspect might be tied to the new medication I’m currently taking. It was as if every element of my retreat was conspiring against the tranquility I sought.

Initially, when close friends or family asked me how I was enjoying my time off, I couldn’t mask my disappointment. I’d let out a long sigh, recounting how the experience hadn’t turned out the way I’d hoped. My disappointment was palpable, and I was initially stuck in it. But then something shifted. In one of those moments of reflection—when I was recounting my challenges for the umpteenth time—it struck me that this entire situation was an opportunity, not a failure of plans.

The recognition was subtle. What if, instead of resisting and lamenting, I simply accepted the week for what it was? The noise, the sleeplessness, the bodily discomfort—these weren’t obstacles to my practice of silence and presence; they were the practice that I actually needed. And just like that, it felt as though I deepened into something I already knew but hadn’t fully embodied.

This realization didn’t erase the frustrations! No! It didn’t magically turn my week into the retreat I had envisioned. But it shifted my perspective. I began to see that acceptance is not about passively resigning to circumstances. It was really about meeting them with openness and curiosity— embracing the imperfections of my experience! And there was a kind of rest even in that that I wasn’t expecting—a rest not of the body but of the mind.

I was reminded that acceptance, isn’t about everything going perfectly. Acceptance is about meeting life, exactly as it is.

In moments like these, when we get the chance to use these circumstances for practice, the realizations deepen in ways that words often fail to capture. It becomes blindingly clear: if we refuse to accept the situations in our lives exactly as they are, we trap ourselves in a self-created cycle of suffering—a kind of personal hell that we dig and dig with each refusal to see and accept things in front of us exactly as they are.

Now, you might be bristling at this idea, ready to push back. “Wait a minute,” you might say. “Are you telling me to just sit back and do nothing about this so so so situation I’m dealing with?” My answer? Yes! And also, no. Let me explain.

When we face difficult circumstances, our first instinct is often to resist. We pour endless amounts of mental and emotional energy into wishing things were different, into battling the sheer reality of what is. But here’s the thing: the situation exists. It already is. In fact, it would not be there otherwise! How do I know that? Because it already is as it is! The evidence is undeniable because if it weren’t, you wouldn’t be experiencing it in the first place! If so, what can we do? Instead of expending all that energy in resistance, we can turn towards acceptance.

Not just a grudging, half-hearted acceptance, but a full-bodied, wholehearted embrace. We can welcome the situation with such warmth and openness that it feels almost like gratitude. Why gratitude? Because these challenges hold a mirror to all the ways we fail to see our innate freedom. They show us the places where we are still tied up in resistance, where we haven’t yet recognized the truth of our boundless nature.

When we embrace situations as they are, something remarkable begins to happen. Wisdom starts to unfold. We begin to see the fleeting nature of every experience. Circumstances, no matter how overwhelming they may feel in the moment, are as temporary as the thoughts that swirl around them. They come, and then they go. They rise, and then they fall. Over and over again, the rhythm repeats. Isn’t that astonishingly beautiful?

And here’s the deeper revelation: when we stop clinging to circumstances—whether to push them away or to hold them close—we start to see that we remain constant amid their comings and goings. We begin to glimpse that everything visible, every situation, every challenge, is finite. But what we are—what is witnessing all of this—is infinite. In this realization, there’s a profound unveiling. The circumstances that seemed so monumental begin to fade in importance, revealing the steady presence that underlies them. These circumstances become the catalyst that shows us our true face—the one untouched by any circumstance, eternal and free. Oh, what a gift it is to see this so clearly!

Oh! how are we then able to say in these circumstances, “Here is why I was born! To have this experience! Just this experience!”

Glory!

Contemplative Prompt

1. What am I resisting right now? Write down the situation exactly as it is(alternatively you can block out about 15minutes to examine this experience), without judgment or embellishment. Then, ask yourself, What would it feel like to fully accept this as it is?

2. How much energy am I spending wishing things were different? Reflect on what might shift if you redirected that energy towards acceptance. As you move into ‘acceptance’ with this prompt, begin to notice how or what that feels like in the body.

3. If I set aside all the felt sense of my situation(all of the patterns of thoughts), what is left? Contemplate the infinite presence beneath the surface. What is noticing the thoughts behind this?

4. What does this moment reveal about my true nature? Explore how embracing both joy and challenge leads you back to yourself. What is the yourself here?

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Contemplative Currents is a free (bi-weekly) newsletter that aims to shed light into our daily experiences as opportunities for contemplation of this glorious Mystery. If you'd like to support my work, please consider subscribing and/or sharing this free Substack. If you’re looking to monetarily support, buying my book, This Glorious Dance: Thoughts & Contemplations About Who We Are, is enough. I'm grateful for your support in whatever capacity.