Tara Brach (from http://blog.tarabrach.com/) wrote this amazing blog post that we discussed in a Radical Acceptance group recently. Here is the concept, paraphrased by me:
Decades ago, when the English had colonized India they wanted to set up a golf course in Calcutta. At first the golf course seemed to be a great idea; the only challenge was that the area was completely overpopulated with monkeys.
The monkeys, of course, were very interested in golf as well. Every time people would hit their balls, the monkeys would run after the balls and throw them around the course. The golfers HATED this, and tried everything they could to stop this from happening. They built huge fences, which the monkeys would just climb over. They tried to sway them away with bananas, which the monkeys would just eat. They tried to lure them, capture them, and relocate them. But the monkeys would just find their way back.
Finally, the golf course had no choice but to put a new rule into effect: The golfers in Calcutta had to play the ball wherever the monkey dropped it.
They were on to something!! Think about it. We all want life to be a certain way. We want everything to be just right, just the way we planned. But sometimes life just doesn't cooperate. So when monkeys are dropping balls where we don't want them, what can we do???
**If we want to find peace, if we want to find acceptance, if we want to find freedom, we must pause and say--"Okay. This is where the monkey dropped the ball. I"ll play it from here, as well as I am able."**
Sometimes in life it doesn't matter what's happening...it's how we respond to it. How we respond determines our happiness and our peace of mind. When life picks up your ball and throws it wherever it wants, you just gotta pick it up and keep playing.
Is there a situation right now you are having a difficult time accepting? Is there any way you can change it? If not, how can you accept that this is where your ball has been dropped, and move forward??
