January 29, 2025 ~ Wednesday afternoon (sunny/cool, and a backhoe full of poop emojis)
And so, here we are … on a sunny but cool day … Day 9 of T 2.0 and all hell has broken loose. I feel like it’s been a year already! I am not going to go into it – but if you are following things – you know what is going on and it is disgraceful, absurd, reprehensible, shocking, and shameful … to say the least.
A lot of garbage, doo-doo, crap … and for lack of a better word … shit … has been (and is) going on. Not only politically – but, unfortunately, in my backyard, too.
The overflowing washing machine situation turned out not to be a dying washer with a cracked drum (which I didn’t figure out until the new one was hooked up and my old one carted away!) but instead a crushed sewer line and a major back-up problem. Can you say ca-ching?! So, yeah – a lot of poop emojis in my emails of late. And if I could figure out how to insert them here – I would!
Earlier today I started thinking that my word for the day would be one of those above but as it turns out, today’s word is … acceptance.
In (certain) instances, sometimes that is what is needed … and the best course of action.
Acceptance … ”the action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered or the action or process of being received as adequate or suitable.”
When we accept something (be it a situation, behavior, or our own quirks/flaws/failings) or some other person’s … there is a shift in our psyche in the form of a more calmed emotional state of being. The result being a release of stress and anxiety. When we accept – we let go of whatever struggles we are facing which leads to a more peaceful existence. (Thanks AI Overview!)
The emotional effects of acceptance are many … along with less stress and anxiety are self- compassion, less negative emotions, less thinking about what could have or should have been, and empowerment.
And while acceptance is important – in so many areas of our lives – it’s doesn’t mean we have to be HAPPY about how is or what is the situation at hand. It just means we acknowledge it is as it is without trying to force change when it is not truly possible.
But, by no means, does acceptance mean acquiescence. You can have a calmer outlook (which might help your mindset/perspective/collective thoughts) but you can always push back, too.
Kind of an “it is what it is” scenario with a calmer outlook but with a twist. It might not be the easiest thing to do but it might be the game changer for your responses to what is.
I HATE what is going on politically. Everyone who knows me, knows I want that wayward alligator (or even better – Godzilla) to descend on T and make him into a nice snack. I don’t like anything about what is going on but if I don’t want to have a stroke or heart attack over it all, I’m going to have to learn to have some acceptance about it. I’m not going to LIKE it but I have to accept that this is how things are (for now) and go forward in a calmer, less stressful manner.
And that brings me to the poop emojis I’ve been using for the past few days and this sewer issue. I can’t do anything about this broken sewer line other than accept that it is broken and get it fixed (which they are doing right now – to the tune of about a zillion dollars). I don’t like it but I can’t live my life drinking water from the hose or with a port-o-potty in my backyard. It is what it is.
And with saying that … I am going to do a complete 180 and say that (for me) some things are just not acceptable … like racism, dishonesty, stealing, disrespect, bullying, cheating, selfishness, greed, bigotry, sexism, abuse, violence, manipulation, narcissism, and disregard. (I’m sure there are more issues but those first came to mind.) I’d say let’s throw in lack of empathy and compassion, too, but I know some people are just incapable of those things – somehow hard-wired to not accommodate those traits. The others, I think are more of a choice than inherent. But, I’m not schooled in psychology (other than Psych 101 in college which was basically useless) … these are just my opinions/thoughts. And, for what it’s worth, I will always (ALWAYS) call someone out on these issues.
In thinking this all through, it still remains confusing to me. How can I say that I accept what is going on politically (amongst other things) while I hate everything about what is going on? How can I say I abhor racism and all the other horrible things and still accept their existence? I know that I do so as to not have a cow fit (on an hourly/daily basis) but it bothers me to no end that this is how it is. Self-saving but scary … and soooo beyond my comprehension and behaviors. How can I really truly ACCEPT this all? How can we?
I don’t know, but I know it’s something to work on. But I’m also going to keep the “push back” option in mind.
Acceptance … it is what it is.