Radical Acceptance
John Green has a new book called Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection. In his New York Times interview he says, “People should be allowed to be funny. Life is everything: Life is tragic and it’s hilarious and it’s a farce and it’s a drama. It’s everything.”
In the Harry Potter books, Sirius says to Harry, “The world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters. We’ve all got both light and dark inside of us.”
Life is everything all at once. We should accept that truth.
Frederick Buechner wrote, “Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” The world is all these things, and so much is outside of my control. But despite my best intentions, I’m failing every day at practicing radical acceptance. Radical acceptance is three things:
Accepting situations that are outside of your control without judging them.
Acknowledging your emotions without denying, avoiding, or ignoring the situation.
Embracing what is happening now, even when it includes pain or discomfort.
I want to see the world as it is and not spend my time wishing it was something else. I want to love people for who they are and not who I think they could be or should be. I want to accept the future, most of which is outside of my control, but for the part I can control, I want to make it a little better instead of a little worse.
My favorite podcast, Pantsuit Politics, ends every show with, “Have the best day available to you.” The picture of Caleb shows him having the best day available to him at a moment a few weeks ago. That is my hope for each of you. Have the best Monday available to you. Have the best April available to you. Have the best 2025 available to you.
Giver of love and life, let us always have the best day available to us. Amen.
Michelle is currently a Program Analyst with the Department of Veterans Affairs. She’s a wife, mother, sister, and friend, a chocolate and coffee lover, reader of books, listener of podcasts, and a travel enthusiast.