Hello and welcome back to Second Chance to Live. I hope you are doing well today. In my experience I have found that when I am frustrated and afraid, I forget to use the power of choice. When I forget to use my power of choice I succumb to the notion that no other alternatives exist. With my awareness, I can choose to examine why I am frustrated and in fear. By doing so I can seek to make changes.
“If you do not like something, change it. If you can not change it, change the way you think about it.” Mary Engelbreit
Over the course of the past several months I have found myself frustrated about some thing. I found that my frustration led to my experiencing some ongoing fear. Although I had written about and spoke with trusted friends about my frustration and fear, I continued to experience that frustration and fear. This past Saturday morning I decided to attend a meeting where the topic of acceptance was discussed.
“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” C.S. Lewis
Because I had been experiencing frustration and fear, I found myself identifying with the person who was sharing why they were frustrated and in fear. As I listened, the reality of why I was experiencing frustration and fear became clear to me. I was having a difficult time accepting some thing over which I felt powerless. As I listened to what members shared, I became aware of why I was feeling stuck.
As I listened, I remembered what I had forgotten. Acceptance is the end stage of the grieving process. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and then Acceptance. As I listened, I realized that I had been in the midst of a grieving process over something that I had difficult time accepting. The meeting helped me to realize that I needed to take the steps to accept what created frustration and fear in me.
Before I am able to move into acceptance, I first need to have awareness. My awareness — through my acceptance — gives me the willingness to ask for help and to move into action.
Through attending the meeting, listening to what people shared and through processing what I had forgotten, I realized that I needed a power greater than myself to help me. Through my awareness and acceptance, I took the action to surrender what I was frustrated and fearful about to a loving God. By doing so I was able to let go and let God. By doing so I was able to let go of my frustration and fear.
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