Today has been a day. I chose this card because I need to relinquish the illusion of control, stop beating some very dead horses, accept people and situations for who and what they are, embrace what is, and then adapt to that. I don’t have to like it but I really have to accept it. This isn’t easy. What is it that you struggle with accepting? Do you find yourself fighting the flow of things? Do you try to fight it? I feel like that’s all I’ve been doing lately- fighting the flow of things. I know that sometimes it’s absolutely necessary to fight but sometimes it’s just not worth it and I recognize that now more than ever. When you are the one buckling under the stress of fighting against people and situations you can’t change, even when you know in your bones that you are right, you have to consider the value of continuing the fight if you have no real way of effecting the change you desire. I am a fighter so I know how challenging that can be. We have to control our own responses and reactions. To accept that which we cannot change does not mean that we have to participate. We can decide to adapt and say “I’m out.” We can also adapt and go with the flow in the hopes that it all works out despite our misgivings. Going with the flow is not always easy but it’s also not always a bad thing.
Of course, this doesn’t mean to just abandon accountability and let the universe take you here and there, or to simply let life happen to you. It means that sometimes you just have to take a chill pill, and go with the flow, because sometimes there isn’t a damn thing you can do otherwise and fighting it will just make you lose your mind. Unless we want to break, we sometimes have to bend. There’s a line in the Carpenter’s song “It’s Going to Take Some Time” that always pops into my head whenever I am in a situation I cannot control and it’s clear that have to bend and go with the flow even when I don’t want to. It goes, “It’s going to take some time this time no matter what I’ve planned. But like the young trees in the wintertime I’ll learn how to bend.” It’s a great song, you should take a listen. But my point is that when this song plays on repeat in my head I know that I’m in a situation that is beyond my control and fighting it is not only useless but wasteful and silly. I accept that I may have to bend and go with the flow so that I won’t break. Sometimes, going with the flow surprises us. Regardless, there is peace in taking a deep breath and accepting that the person or the situation is what it is and there’s nothing you can do about it.
If you can relinquish the need to control and, instead, surrender to what is every now and then, I believe you will find a lot more peace in your day to day life. There is mush to be said for just going with the flow just to see where it takes you. Maybe you’ll find yourself somewhere amazing- somewhere wonderful that you hadn’t considered before. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, embrace and accept that this is just the way it is. At least for now.
Thanks for popping in. I hope to see you soon!