Acceptance is not the same as approval.
Acceptance does not mean consenting to suffering.
Just because something is “real,” I don’t have to like it, approve it, or leave it as it is. Acceptance is a valuable experience. It allows me to understand what is true right now. With this, I can then formulate a course of action if necessary.
Acceptance is:
- The opposite of denial.
- Nonjudgement.
- Not actively fighting reality.
- Validating the way I feel.
- Recognizing the way I feel as a passing experience.
- Being aware of what is real and factual. (And separating this from thoughts and feelings about it.)
- Knowing whatever is true right now is okay because it ALREADY IS. (It is fruitless to try to change reality.)
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