27 Feb The good and the bad, happy and sad, try to welcome it all …
I’ve written a lot about acceptance as an active coping strategy and in recent years, I’ve worked especially hard on trying to master and integrate it into my personal life.
As with most things suggested for happiness and mental health, it’s easier said than done BUT well worth the effort. Because it is possible and it is massively beneficial.
One of the best ways of thinking about acceptance, at least one form of acceptance, is beautifully described in Rumi’s poem and allegory, best known as The Guest House. Some of you may well be familiar with this but if not, I’m happy to share it with you below …
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
I love this and find it so helpful because even though I encourage you all to do all you can to create happiness and wellbeing in your lives, I also repeatedly remind people that we can’t be happy all the time, and that we also need to be accepting of the full range of normal and human emotions and experiences, including unhappiness, sadness and grief, stress and anxiety and worry, anger and frustration and so much more.
Rumi, via The Guest House, reminds us not to resist any of the thoughts and emotions we experience, but rather, to meet them with courage, warmth, and respect. I wish you luck in your attempts to achieve this.