December 01, 2016
Starting With Acceptance
Most of us have some sense of the way we want things to go. We have a dream, a vision. And then the world, in all its apparent chaos, happens. For many this unpredictability seems random and unsettling. On occasion it can even feel devastating. We want to have control over our outcome, and we want the world to reflect our values.
The truth is we are not in control. We may Co-Create with the Universal Force, but we cannot control it. We are an extension of it, and as such cannot make poor choices without consequence. If we are out of balance, it sometimes takes great darkness and calamity to bring us back to center. Disastrous events rise up and teach us when we are not listening. They help us evolve, clear karma, and ultimately, they restore balance.
When it looks distasteful we resit. Who wants to give up their comfort and jump into a fiery inferno? Sometimes that is just the medicine, however, that is needed to move on to the next. Wildfires destroy whole habitats, decimate forests, and in the end, a stronger new woodland grows as the dense canopy above breaks down.
Most of us feel like victims of circumstance when something outside our control happens. When victims feel cornered, they either shrink into fear and helplessness, or they rally into a volley of rage and shame, creating more of the same. We don’t have to be victims, however. It starts with accepting the way things are. This means taking ownership of all of the imbalances at play.
As the indigenous remind us, we are not here to use up the resources of this planet without reverence or consequence. We are visitors here. Sometimes, finding ourselves at the very edge of consequence is where we finally wake up, where we learn to work with the forces of creation, instead of selfishly against them. Sometimes it takes a great darkness to consume our light before we, as a collective, rememberer this.
Much like surfers, we mostly live our lives floating on the ocean’s surface, while the deep waters beneath us move back and forth, gently. There are times, however, when something within that darkness surges to the surface to be seen. The waves beneath us swell, they peal over us and crash onto the shore. We cannot change these waves. We cannot make them stop. They have a power of their own. While they have the capacity to pummel us to pieces, there is a timing to them, a rhythm. If we pay attention, we can get up on our surfboards and ride.
The art of acceptance is being aware. It is acknowledging that the storm has arrived. Surrendering to its momentum does not mean losing, it means conceding that ultimately there is a higher intelligence at work. It may not look like it. We may not like it. But we have to trust we are being taken some place new. As the bible says, it is only drowning men who see Jesus. Sometimes we must be taken to the brink of ruin before balance is restored and we see the light.
The forces of Nature can be intense and there is a timing to everything. We are all part of its process. We are now entering into the darkest days of the year. Let us embrace it, for in the darkness we find the seeds of our future. Within our shadows we will find our brilliance. Darkness is part of the process. Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year, is December 21st. Let us all light a candle then. As the light returns, fear not its power nor its strength. Balance will be restored. It always is. Steady yourselves, and get ready to ride.
Christina Allen’s work as an Intuitive, Shamanic Healer, Teacher and Owner of the Austin Shamanic Center, combines a strong science background (BA Physics, MS Neuroscience) with decades of applied ancient spiritual wisdom (Master Yogi, Reiki Master, and profound healing practices based on many indigenous practices, including the Q’ero Indians of Peru). Learn more, sign up for classes, book an appointment: www.AustinShamanicCenter.com, 512-391-9829.
© Austin All Natural, December, 2016