Day 48

Day 48: Real Time
Day 3: 21 Day Complaint Free Journey


“The way out of our cage begins with accepting absolutely everything about ourselves and our lives, by embracing ourselves and our lives, by embracing with wakefulness and care our moment-to-moment experience. …..what I mean is that we are aware of what is happening within our body and mind in any given moment, without trying to judge or pull away. This is an inner process of accepting our actual present-moment experience.” Tara Brach, as quoted in 365 Nirvana: Here and Now.

Interesting analogy, isn’t it? “Our cage” of complaining, which is our unacceptance of what is happening to us at any particular moment.

Much like Will Bowen explains in his book, “A Complaint Free World,” accepting the present moment does NOT mean we don’t take action when our lives are headed in the wrong direction. It does NOT mean accepting shoddy service or allowing others to take advantage of us.

It does have a lot to do with avoiding judging our moments, I think. If we encounter an injustice or see an adjustment we need to make, we simply do it with grace and dignity in order to better our own lives. We do it with assertiveness, but without acrimony and aggressiveness.

I made it through another complaint-free day by staying present, even as I dealt with the last bit of business with the company that didn’t work out for me. That weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and I managed it without again being offended by the details that led to the end of that relationship.

In other words, the cage door didn't slam shut on me, trapping me inside again.