Accept does not mean tolerate

One of the fundamental precepts of Zen philosophy is acceptance.

Do not fight against the universedo not go against what happens naturally, not to “force things”. This philosophy of life is also known as the "Law of Least Effort." »

However, this precept can easily be misinterpreted. It is important to distinguish between "accept" and "tolerate".. They are two very different things.

Accepting a situation does not necessarily mean that you have to tolerate it.

When we talk about accepting things, it is also not a question of tolerating everything and doing nothing..

Accepting things means not wasting time wishing things were different. It's not being frustrated or angry about a situation, wishing the present were different than it is.

How can you know if you really accept things or not? If you say to yourself “If only it were like this or like that”, if you wish to be able to return to the past to change your situation in the present, it is because you are not in acceptance.

Nope, the present is what it is. And the more you fight it, the more energy you'll waste.

The present is what it is, but the future may be different

On the other hand, you can wish that things would be different in the more or less near future.

We can completely accept a situation, while wanting things to change, that they become different.

Acceptance is not an invitation to inaction. Quite the contrary. And this is where the confusion is most common. It's not about saying “ok, it's like, never mind”. Oh no.

One can perfectly accept the present moment as it is, things as they are, while wanting to make things or the situation better. And it is precisely by accepting a situation that one ceases to fight against what is currentlyand that we can thus have the energy to work to make things the way you want them to be.

So if you are not satisfied with the situation you find yourself in today, do not fight against the past or the present. Do not hold resentment or frustration with the current situation. Simply take the present moment as it is, and work today to improve your future.

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