Great example. My experiences with my ex-wife were full of resistance and resentment. And for really good reasons. No matter, the person I was harming was myself. Working with an excellent therapist allowed me to let go of all that in an instant! Poof! Like clouds just dissipating into nothingness. Riding out the pandemic with my disabled daughter solidified my embracing acceptance.

A recent perfect example of acceptance is that my ex-wife planned a dual birthday party for me and her new husband, because we share the same birthday. Yikes! She didn’t bother to tell me about her plans until a week before. I could feel the resistance and anger try to build up inside of me, but instead of giving it fuel, I just thought, “Could be fun”. And it was. Even though she acted out some typical behaviors. And later I found out that his grown son had damaged something in my house during the party. Oh well. Just another cloud passing by.

I imagine that one could read your article and think, “Well, that’s easy to say. He mustn’t have many problems.” We all have problems. Some of them huge, perhaps life threatening. Accepting that something we don’t like is happening does not mean acquiescing. In fact, acceptance actually allows us to take action, if needed, more quickly and effectively. And the other stuff? Clouds.

Thank you for this reminder.