ACCEPTANCE!

-

 

Just about last night, I came across this post on Instagram "Everyone teaches us to say No, but no one teaches us to accept no" That is so true. 

But there was only one thought that crossed my mind while reading that...can acceptance really be taught? Or do we learn it with real-time experience, having been through a failure, a break-up, a non-promotion, a rejection? 

Why do we fear failure? Why do we fear rejection? Why is it that we are on a constant quest to just get what we desire? Why can't we simply accept things the way they are? 

Has it ever occurred to you, I'm going in for an exam and, if I fail that exam, what would my next strategy be? Or is it just the usual, I have given my 100%, rest is luck? Or I am gonna get this. 

We all are taught to be optimistic, right? But has anyone ever questioned that we might be losing out on what's real while chasing that optimism, and in ways weakening our power to accept things the way they are? 

So, most of my school time, I was an introverted kid. When I really came out of that shell, I was boom, vice head girl. From nowhere to being everywhere in school... Then the year after that senior perfect, then an all India entrance rank, admission to one of the top colleges. I was aiming I was achieving. It was going well, almost so well that I had gotten into the self-belief that I can't lose in anything. Well, that is never true. I was chasing optimism while letting go of what was real. 

In a constant quest to be perfect in everything, and to just get what I wanted, I stumbled upon Reality. I failed, Yes. I didn't accept it, obviously. I had a thousand reasons for how everything and everyone around me was wrong or had contributed to that failure, but I was on the right path. Nothing done by me was wrong. 

But Reality wasn't kind. It wasn't long when I had to finally accept the truth that it was time for me to visit FailureLand. 

Gosh, we are so happy to visit Successland or AmbitiousLand and so proudly announce it to everyone. Then why fear or be embarrassed to reveal our trip to FailureLand or RejectionLand. (I know it's weird to call them 'land' but I do believe; failure, rejection, or break-up is more of a phase with multiple elements than just that one event). 

That failure, yes it was nerve-wracking, stressful, distressful, and embarrassing (well, that's all the adjectives I could think of). But it taught me many other more fruitful lessons that most people learn quite late in life. 

It taught me acceptance. It taught me to dream high while staying in touch with what's real. It taught me self care. It taught me mind control. It taught me to let go of fear. It taught me to let go of self presumed judgment. No, the world isn't that rude. No, they are not judging you for how you are doing in your life, they are already busy managing their own. Henceforth that failure, I do proudly say, I took a trip to FailureLand, and yes, it did give me the most joyous ride ever.

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 11, 2020 at 12:00 PM

    Beautifully written

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousDecember 16, 2020 at 6:32 AM

      Good, seems to be written after facing genuine practical experiences of the life by author/ blogger.

      Delete
  2. Nitya DhawanJanuary 24, 2021 at 11:16 AM

    Beautifully written and articulated. Failure truly teaches us great life lessons, it brings the greatest pain but also transforms us for the better.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Eulogy for my Oldie Goldie

-
Image
Grieve. How do you grieve? What do you do? Do you say thank you to people expressing condolences? Do you cry? Do you try to stay strong?  Each one of us has a different way to grieve. Some are too expressive, like my mom. Some secretly cry in the bathroom, like my dad. And some teleport themselves to a dream island to avoid messing with their head, like me.  I thought I didn't know how to grieve.  But today was different. I never before thought that one day I would have to walk through that white gated door of my grandparent's place and not shout, "Yo, what's up" waking even dead ants and mosquitoes inside.  The house. It wasn't scary because it was empty. It was scary because it was so full.   There, yes, was an empty feeling, but what scared me more was the number of people in that house. For as long as I've been visiting "sector 37" (that's how I know it), there has been an entry cap, any more than ten people (that too is the max end), and...
Read more

Rain, Rain.... Don't Go Away!!

-
Image
  This particular blog's idea came to me just yesterday when it rained in Delhi, it isn't the monsoons, but well, it doesn't even rain fully on monsoons, so I guess this is what Delhi rains are. I'm staying in Delhi after long, almost after four years. I'd left Delhi for my college in Mumbai! So whenever I used to come to Delhi, it used to be a short stay of about 3-4 days, at max one week, and that too during festive offs. It was like my home had become my vacay stay.  So back in school-days, I used to hate rains. I could go to school in extreme winters with like 3 degrees Celsius but not when it would be raining. I used to hate the idea of dressing up in my school outfit, then load it with my school bag, a raincoat, an umbrella, and gumboots. And unlike in Mumbai, Delhi receives light to medium rainfall. So, during rainy days, I used to take a leave from school, terrorizing my parents that due to heavy rains, the roads would be wet, the driver wouldn't be able...
Read more

I Learned 3 Lessons that Day!

-
Image
12 years of schooling, 3 years of graduation, and a year or so of work, I have always abided by the mantra of staying POSITIVE and being kind to everyone. That's one thing my parents have always taught me, be positive and everything else will just fall in line and be kind to every soul . But this is something I didn't always experience. When I first stepped into college, about 4 years back, I met different kinds of people, each of them obviously with a different view and personality, some not always positive or kind.  So, my experience with the "not so positive" attitude started there. That was the first time I was staying in an all-girls hostel, sharing room with 2 strangers with whom I didn't share even one similarity. Now, a group of strangers, new to the city, all away from their homes, will surely connect in the first few months. There will be hostel night stay-ins, singing and dancing nights, play-dates, Maggi nights, we too had all of it. I think the first ...
Read more