“When you complain you make yourself a victim. Leave the situation, change the situation or accept the situation, all else is madness.”
Yeah, but...
Alright for you to say…
Despite these words by Eckhart being transformational for me, when a new dilemma appears my ego can still rise up, get childish, and take him on in my head.
It goes a bit like this:
Eckhart: Leave it, change it or accept it.
Me: Well it's ok for you to say, you're enlightened and I'm feeble. (Plus you wear too much beige so how can I trust you?). And anyway, this time my problem is very complex…
Eckhart: If you don't leave it, change it or accept it, you are choosing madness. (My beige-ness is only as beige as your ego wants it to be.)
Me: Fine. Forget the beige. So how do I do it?
Eckhart: Just get proactive or accept it. That's it. Simple.
Me: And if I don't?
Eckhart: You'll carry on terrorising yourself with your over-thinking, fears and egoic needs. You will suffer. You could be living free right now if you just drop the story that you have to wait for this or that to be better before you do it. The story that it's too late or too broken.
Me: Ok, so if I can't change or leave what's happening, how do I accept something that feels unacceptable?
Eckhart: You say “for now, this is what this situation, this moment, requires me to do, and so I do so willingly.”
Me: But I don't want to willingly accept it.
Eckhart: Then you will suffer in madness.
Me: Oh.
Eckhart: Whatever this moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. This is where the freedom lies...
* * *
Is there any example of when the statement 'leave it, accept it, change it, all else is madness' isn't true? When arguing with reality ever makes anything better? When suffering is better than peace?
Love, Jo x
Weekly mindful musings • Free guided group meditations • Class discounts