Forgiveness, Acceptance and a TV series Recommendation

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The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Everything comes with a price. I went to bed with this thought in my head. I woke up with the same thought. I asked myself, So you think everything comes with a price, right? Like what? Well, I came up with a few examples, like:
  • Honesty. People might not like what you have to say, and could walk away or distance themselves.
  • Justice. Not everyone can afford it, and I'm not necessarily talking about money.
  • Success. Sorting your priorities means there are other things that won't make it. 
  • Peace. Achieving it means you've gone through pain and/or suffering, and that's tough.
  • Love. It isn't a bed of roses, is it? It's unavoidable to hurt and get hurt, but love must rise above it all. 
  • Respect. Vulnerability can make you a target, got to learn to stand your own ground.
  • Family. Having it near or far, it's never easy. 
I know this might not seem like a tremendously cheerful Saturday morning thought. I told that to myself too. So I kept thinking, How can I give myself some hope? Then a friend of mine said the magic word, acceptance. We were discussing a situation when I explained I needed to work on forgiveness. To what she replied, Acceptance might be what you should be looking for. And you know what? She nailed it. There are facts in life we can't change, but what we can do is take a look at ourselves and work with that. We're in control of the way we take the world in, so we must adjust the filter every now and then. If we don't work on ourselves first, how do we expect anything to change? 

 My lesson for today is to remember this serenity prayer,

PS
Before I leave you, I'll like to recommend a Netflix TV series that got me thinking, as you can see, quite intensely: De Twaalf. You'd also practice your Dutch since it's Flemish, or enjoy it with subtitles. It's about many things, among others about human nature, the pretty and the ugly. It makes for great discussions. 

Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands

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