throw down your arms...

**from the American Heritage Dictionary:

rad·i·cal

adj.

1. Arising from or going to a root or source; basic:proposed a radical solution to the problem.

2. Departing markedly from the usual or customary; extreme or drastic:a radical change in diet.

3. Relating to or advocating fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions, or institutions:radical politics; a radical political theorist.

4. Medicine Relating to or being surgery that is extreme or drastic in an effort to eradicate all existing or potential disease:radical hysterectomy.

5. Linguistics Of or being a root:a radical form.

6. Botany

a. Of, relating to, or arising from a root:radical hairs.

b. Arising from the base of a stem or from a below-ground stem or rhizome:radical leaves.

7. Slang Excellent; wonderful.

n.

1. One who advocates fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions, or institutions:radicals seeking to overthrow the social order.

ac·cep·tance n. 1. The act or process of accepting. 2. The state of being accepted or acceptable. 3. Favorable reception; approval. 4. Belief in something; agreement. 5. a. A formal indication by a debtor of willingness to pay a draft or bill of exchange. b. An instrument so accepted, especially a bankers' acceptance. 6. Law The demonstration of agreement with the terms and conditions of another's offer so that the offer becomes a contract between the two parties.

'...one could say: "the boundary condition of the universe is that it has no boundary." the universe would be completely self-contained and not affected by anything outside itself. it would neither be created nor destroyed. it would just BE.'

--stephen hawking

radical acceptance, in my life, is laying myself down on the lowest floor of my deepest self,  and exhaustively exploring whatever is confronting me...

it's saying out loud, to myself,  "well, this is what this is, and it's here, in the middle of my life, my house, my head, my heart.  this is what this is."  

sometimes, i really actually have to lay face-down on the floor to do it...but my goodness, in those actual physical moments of prostration, i have borne witness to some incredible events.   

radical acceptance is not about fixing, or planning, or manipulation, or creating a power structure.  it's about saying the unvarnished truth, so far as i can see it, and seeing what's actually real, because until i  accept the objective reality of whatever situation or person is confronting me, i can't really see a damn thing.  and it's hard to get out of the way.  it's hard to put down what i want...to hear, or see, or smell, or hold, and stand eyeball to eyeball with the black and white and grey of things. 

i have a hard time dealing with reality.  wait...that's not really right...i have a hard time dealing with what i think reality means.  sometimes, i get all stirred up, thinking that what is happening now is a constant, that it's always been this way and it will be this way FOREVER.  that is fundamentally not true.  it can't rain all the time any more than it can never ever rain, ever again.  some days are dry.  some days are soggy.  and the reality is that i don't get to pick the soggy days or the dry days, or how many of them come in a row.  and that irritates me to no end. 

radically accepting things is admitting that whatever control i think i exert is simply an illusion that helps me get to sleep at night.  it's also admitting that things are going to happen that i don't like, or understand, or that hurt.  but it also means coming to terms with the fact that things beyond my wildest imaginings will find their way to me, as well.  and that's not a bad trade off.  

there is something like freedom in coming to terms with that.  something just like it.  

mil besos,

rmg