This Week:
We are beginning our exploration of the “The Principle of Acceptance” the fifth of the principles of valid action (all twelve can be found in chapter XIII of The Inner Look). This principle says: “If day and night, summer and winter are well with you, you have surpassed the contradictions.”
This week we consider the structure, sense, and scope of the principle/ We will also take a first pass at understanding it in general terms. To help with that you will find below a story that illustrates some of its aspects. We’ll also look around to see what other expressions of the principle we can find.
General Considerations and Personal Reflections:
I hope these reflections might be useful raw material for your own meditations and they are being shared in that spirit.
It has been said that this Principle explains how apparent opposites can be reconciled when you change your point of view about the problem or situation.
The extreme heat of summer makes us think of the cool of winter, and the extreme cold of winter makes us think of the warmth of summer. Every difficult situation leads us to remember, or dream about its opposite. However, when we find ourselves in this other situation, we are usually not content for long, and soon find ourselves itching for something else. Each new compensation leads us back to some opposite point. Whenever we are in a difficult situation (that is, when we suffer) the search for a new compensation begins. However, the compensation cannot in itself help us resolve the problem, nor get us past our suffering.
This principle also reminds me of what some of us at times have playfully called The Emerald Path: an attitude, or perspective that is a kind of internal alchemy allowing us to turn all the situations we find ourselves in, good, bad, or indifferent into fuel for our journey to greater internal unity. To put it another way, it allows us to transform everything into nourishment for our evolutionary work.
That doesn’t mean we desire difficult or painful situations, rather that when we find ourselves in these regrettable situations, we are able to extract something useful from them. It reminds us of the legends of the ancient alchemists who it was said could turn lead into gold. That’s great, but sometimes we find ourselves with shit instead of lead, so it’s interesting to learn to transmute that more unpleasant substance into gold as well.
This unusual perspective requires a purpose or meaning that transcends whatever situation in which we may find ourselves (eg. the aim of moving toward internal unity and away from contradiction, to cultivate peace in ourselves and carry it to others, etc).
Compared to someone who has a defined meaning in their life others appear to lack a sense of direction. They’ll also differ noticeably in their attitude, and behaviours when confronting problems. A person who has a clear meaning in their life can see difficulties as things that can serve that meaning, or that can be useful as tools, or lessons, or as a means for self-transformation. That’s a very different attitude than that of trying to avoid or compensate for difficulties. A person with an interesting direction faces problems and accepts them. They try to transform or find something useful in them. If the heat of summer and the cold of winter are both useful for me than how can they be opposed to each other.
This Week’s Game
Find It!
The rules for week’s game are simple, and summed up in the name of the game, Find it. We are always looking for examples of the principles in our daily life and personal experience. In the game of Find It we extend that to the cultural environment around us.
Below you will find a story that has been used to illustrate this principle. We might consider it an example of what someone playing this game found. During this week keep your eyes and ears (and memory and imagination) open for things around you that illustrate the principle.
A Story:
Here’s a traditional tale you likely know in some form. As with so many of the tales and stories we use to illustrate the principles this one originates in a very different time and place. Despite the distances between these different historical situations and cultural values, these tales nonetheless afford us a glimpse into how others tried to understand the same realities we are exploring:
There was a man named Job who was upright and feared the lord. He had many sons, and daughters. He had many camels, oxen, asses, sheep, and goats. Job’s wealth was great, as was his righteous heart. All through the lands of the East he was known as a wise and just man, always obedient to the will of God.
One day all the sons of God came to present themselves to their lord. Among them the was Satan, the adversary. And God said to Satan: “Where have you been?” And the adversary answered him: “I have been going to and fro on the Earth and going all about it”. And the lord said: “Have you seen my servant Job. He is a just and upright man, without equal in that world.” Satan replied: “Yes, so he seems, but you have blessed him with good health, and family and cattle and riches of all kinds. Stretch forth your hand and take what he has and see if he does not blaspheme you to your face”. So, the lord told Satan that he might test Job in every way but not to touch his person.”
In rapid succession Job’s sons were murdered by highwaymen, his sheep lost in a fire, his camels stolen, and a mighty wind destroyed his home. Hearing this news Job fell to the ground and mourned. “Naked I came into the world and naked I will go from it. The lord gives and the lord takes away; blessed be his will. And in all this, Job neither sinned nor cursed God.
So, Satan asked God for permission to touch Job’s person. And God agreed, saying only “you must spare his life”. And Job was covered with itching sores from head to foot. So, sitting in the ruins of his house he took a roof tile and began to scratch himself. These afflictions and others plagued him for years. And finally, his wife said: “How do you remain so simple. Curse God and die. He replied: “We accept God’s goodness; how shall we not accept his evil? Blessed be his name and his will.”
Job’s friends and his neighbours drew away from him. And those he had comforted in their times of need said to him: “Good and evil are distributed to all. But who but a great sinner could receive such woe. Who suffers so much evil from heaven for good deeds, or is the lord unjust?” To this Job answered: “Who am I to judge the designs of God? He has given to me, and he has taken from me. Blessed be his decrees”.
And in the end the lord descended to them, and he told Job’s erstwhile friends that they had unjustly accused Job who was the most righteous of men. And though he never explained his actions he restored Job’s health and doubled his wealth. And Job lived 140 years and had many children and saw his grandchildren’s grandchildren and their children live and flourish. And Job said: “The lord has taken from me, and the lord has given to me. Blessed be his will”.
Coming up:
Next week we’ll look to the past and explore how applying, or ignoring this Principle of Proportion has impacted our lives, and the lives of those around us.
A Question Worth Repeating:
Can you sit with eyes closed and go deep inside to discover the source of inner peace, vital force, and real joy? Can you open your eyes and discover how to transform daily life into your spiritual path?
Remember
For things to move together things means I need to recognize that not everything has the same importance. Things need to be prioritized. In fact, it is only by having clear priorities and acting accordingly that everything will truly act together.
Note:
This week another illustration from Rafael Edwards
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