Living in Acceptance of What Is

One major tenet of shamanic practice is living in acceptance of what is.

What does this mean?

Well, it's accepting that your child doesn't want to go to school; she wants to learn through experiences you provide her.

Accepting what is.

This is the idea that when the trees lose their leaves every year; they do not mourn the loss, they just allow it. Imagine what a struggle the tree would have if it clung tightly to all those beautiful leaves through the fall, winter, and spring. If the tree absolutely refused to let go, wouldn't it have used all its energy - energy it needed to sustain itself through the cold winter months - clinging to the unnecessary leaves. Then when it comes time for Spring storms, the tree is weakened and overloaded with the old, dead, leaves from its past that are draining its energy and blocking new growth. The new leaves and the new breath of freshness are not able to find a place in this world.

Like the tree, I have found myself holding on to things that no longer serve me. I have held on to the "shoulda/woulda/coulda"s of my small life and have not allowed the old practices that no longer serve me to drop away. Instead I cling to the status quo; I cling to the old belief of what worked for me "should" work for my child. I cling to expectations that society places on me and my family. I have been fully entrenched in the Dream and accepted all of the shame, fear, and regret that it involves.

Accepting what is.

For me, accepting what is means allowing the old dead leaves of traditional schooling to fall away and accepting a new growth in my daughter's schooling.

Join me in the conversation: What are you struggling to accept right now?