Acceptance

Acceptance is the last spoke on the wheel of the “A’s.” Often, it feels like the first step towards truly overcoming the many challenges that come our way. The root of acceptance lies in our own understanding of accountability towards the questions, answers, and actions we face each day. But even though we might embrace our level of accountability, we are also faced with the choice of accepting the direction of the wheel of the “A’s” and where it has taken us.

The question now was, “What next shall I accept?” Well after I left the intensive care unit, I was off to a rehabilitation center to rebuild my brain and body.

It has now been over a month, and I have been released from the rehabilitation center. Doctors tell me that they have “only seen less then 1% recover from what I went through as well and as quick as [I] had.” Although this was reassuring, something told me my journey was far from over. As I was being discharged, I remember the physical therapist telling me, “Paul, just keep working on balance.”

I thought, “Balance… ha!” Isn’t that where my journey started in the first place, and isn’t it where so many of our journeys seem to end? I wonder why I keep striving towards balance and sometimes even seem obsessed with it. I think it is because balance allows me to accept things for what they really are, “the truth.”

Most recently, “the truth” is that I need to make a choice now that this “cancerous tumor” has been removed. Luckily, all of the scans, X-rays, and spinal fluid show no trace of cancer in my system. So, I could continue on with my life, hoping cancer doesn’t return, or I could choose to do radiation and/or chemotherapy and kill any cancer cells that might have gone undetected. If I choose the chemo or radiation, there is a long list of side effects that will most likely change the way I live my life. But there is also a long list of other things I need to accept in making my decision. I need to accept all of the facts and stats. I need to accept the countless opinions of doctors, professionals, family members, and friends. I also need to accept the little voice inside of me. Most of all, I think need to accept the “fear of change.” So many, including myself, fear change, but the truth is it will always be there, because “change” is what makes this world work.

If we do not accept the direction and the outcome of our adjustments, then the wheel of the “A’s” will keep turning until we put on the breaks. There is nothing wrong with rolling, though, as long as with the rotation, we see what is at stake before we move on.

Our mind is the hub. Our world is the rim. Our spokes connect the two. Each rotation can put us in the right direction.

Ultimately, getting to any destination on the wheel of the “A’s” can put us in the right position to develop a good sense of timing. Thus, we can know the right time to stop or go and when to accept the truth of any kind of relationship.