We know that there are things that are beyond our control.
In fact, most things are, I believe. There are personal weaknesses we
cannot avoid, and people, events and things that are not to our
liking. We will always have differences and conflicts among ourselves,
not only in matters of taste and opinion, but also in some serious
matters like our core beliefs and faith.
We have to know how to deal with this unavoidable
condition in our life. And one way of doing that is precisely to know
how to accept things as they are without, of course, neglecting the
duty we have to do whatever we can, if given the chance, to put them
right if they are wrong, or to make them better if they are not good
enough.
Obviously there are situations when we should just let
things be, since there is really no need to change them. We have to
learn to live in a world where a great range of diversity in terms of
cultures, lifestyles, mentalities, attitudes, etc. would always be
around.
Part of a good accepting attitude is the ability to be
flexible and resilient without getting confused and lost about what is
absolutely right or wrong, true or false, real or unreal. We have to
know how to adapt ourselves properly to different kinds of people and
our own condition.
This would presume that we have a firm grounding on what
is absolutely right and wrong, good and evil. And this could only mean
that we believe in God, in a Creator who is the original author of all
things in this world. He is also the one that takes care of everything
all the way to the end of time and of the world.
Yes, a good accepting attitude would include the firm
belief that God takes care of everything through his constant
providence over all his creation. He knows what to do in any condition
that we and the world would get into.
We should not regard this belief in divine providence as
some kind of fatalism where we believe that events are fixed in
advance such that we are powerless to change them. We are free beings,
and we somehow are responsible as to how our life and world should
turn, even as God himself is in complete control also of everything,
whether things turn good or bad according to our human standards.
A good accepting attitude would include a good sporting
spirit that knows how to let go of certain things and to move on in
spite of whatever. It makes one calm, with a good sense of confidence
and direction, knowing that while there are things that are beyond
one’s control, God is always in control and knows how to derive good
even from evil.
The sporting spirit that is part of a good accepting
attitude would just be game with whatever setbacks, difficulties and
all forms of suffering that may come our way. With this accepting
attitude, we would know that more than us, it is actually Christ who
bears all the pains involved. We would just focus on what can be done
if there are things that need to be done.
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