Accepting What We Cannot Change

There is no question about it – accepting the loss of loved one can be one of our most difficult challenges, and yet acceptance is part of the answer we are looking for. As long as we resist what has happened, we cannot move beyond it. It is only when we can accept our loss that we are able to move on with our life. This doesn’t happen all at once, but if we are patient, if we are compassionate with ourself and our need to grieve, eventually – step by cautious step, piece by little piece, we begin to accept what we cannot change.

Grief and loss are two of life’s most important teachers. It is only in letting go that we discover what we never lost at all. The love is still there, and it connects us in ways that only love can. That discovery makes it possible to accept what has been so difficult to face. Letting go is key.

I find great lessons in the example of the butterfly. It allows the changes to happen. It surrenders to the process. Ultimately, so must we. Then all these elements – all these changes – will be free to mix together and create a new outlook on life.

Grief, then, can be the chrysalis in which our metamorphosis occurs. In due time we find ourselves moving into a greater understanding both of ourselves, of our purpose, and of our destiny. Along the way, the innate wisdom that has always been within us is guiding us through the labyrinth of life so we can emerge victorious and triumphant.

Thus it is that challenge can be our stepping stone, a means by which our destiny is embraced, our potential is explored, and our victory is won.

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