Red Wine, White Rug

 Resistance is a jealous, greedy energy. It keeps us from surrendering to the Divine. It binds us to what we wish to be free of. It consumes the peace that nurtures understanding.
 
Silly personal example: I  spilled a glass of red wine on a white rug yesterday. At this time I would've pitched a profanity-laden fit, fueled by stories about why it was stupid and should not have happened. But it did happen. And no amount of swearing can change that.
 
Over the years, I've learned to apply spiritual principles to such triggering situations with increasingly more grace. I still get triggered, but I'm better able to accept facts and release the stories that perpetuate resistance, anger, and recrimination. Then I'm free to choose a more fruitful thought process.
 
My spilled wine marked a breakthrough: I skipped the triggered reaction altogether. Instead, a movie of my fit-pitching-self played in my mind: It was a comedy and made me laugh. No outburst. No cursing. No processing. Instead, I just felt gratitude for noticing the behavioral shift, and happily cleaned up the mess.
 
There is much in our world that's unacceptable: pain and suffering, corruption and divisiveness, illness and poverty. Yet, only by accepting the reality of such conditions can our spiritual and emotional energies be redirected to fruitful, life-giving purposes. This capacity for radical acceptance takes practice. But even silly successes can be transformative.