Acceptance and Transformation

Treat your anger with utmost respect and tenderness, for it is no other than yourself. Do not suppress it --- simply be aware of it. Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed. When you are aware that you are angry, your anger is transformed. If you destroy anger, you destroy the Buddha, for Buddha and Mara are of the same essence. Mindfully dealing with anger is like taking the hand of a little brother.

365 Buddha:

Thich Nhat Hanh

As qouted in,

Mind of Clover

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I found this principle to be true in so many other areas of my life; besides those where I found myself trapped and unable to change character defects but also with the mundane sufferings such as physical pain. I call things like this mundane because I’m not able to do much about pain in the first place without powerful narcotics that create a plethora of more debilitating problems if abused (thus making pain mundane compared to the devastation of prescription drug addiction). Pain and the limitations of physical disability require that I not only accept them, but that I am to embrace them if I am ever going to transform or expand those limitations. This doesn’t mean that I allow these limitations to confine me from doing things that I enjoy, or need to do, but that I learn to adapt to those limitations. Some have told me that AA is a crutch that replaced alcohol for me and my answer is to say, “You are right. Wouldn’t I need a prosthetic of some sort if I lost a leg?” Likewise, if I find that my life is adversely affected by my character defects, isn’t it wise if I cease denying I have a problem and embrace it by finding a practice that transforms them towards the light of freedom?

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