Acceptance

My most recent theory: It is better to accept the inevitable than to expect the ideal.

Those of you who know me are probably gasping for air right about now. . . . Can this be? Has the idealistic, perfectionistic, glass-half-full girl finally lost it? Of course not.

But when it comes to air travel (in general) and United Airlines (in particular), I find that I am in a much better place, emotionally, if I learn to accept the inevitable, i.e., (a) that my flights will be delayed incalculably and (b) that my luggage will not arrive with me.

If I can accept these facts before my travels even begin, I will find myself in a much more peaceful state of mind even when things go awry. As they did this afternoon and evening. I have never been so glad to be informed that my luggage did not arrive with me. Why? Because I knew it would happen and accepted that fact long before I could have been suprised by the information. This is a beautiful thing. True, I am still this evening and tomorrow morning without my luggage, but in my heart, all is well.

I wonder how this can be applied to the rest of life. How peaceful everything would be. Perhaps I am one step closer to understanding why some people approach life from a pessimistic perspective. Maybe it is not, as I have always supposed, that they have a lesser ability to handle their emotions. Maybe, rather, it is that they possess the greater ability to accept the inevitable, and in doing so, find peace.