ACCEPTANCE--a sereni-TEA sweetener

My Gratitude Journal's "word of the month" is "acceptance."

Key to waiting is acceptance. Acceptance of the present over the perfect.
What one "has" might be different from what one "wants." A statement that one needs to give credence to in order to move away from self-absorption and go forward.

There are NO perfect relationships, NO perfect physical health for the aging, NO perfect night's sleep every single night, NO emotional health without hormones, etc.---at least not ALWAYS.

Life can be full of head "noises" and random aches, and troubles galore. Expect that fact.
Perfection in life is an unrealistic expectation.

But God....know that God can be in the midst of all these struggles and provide the peace that calms one's heart as one's life questions, without answers, whir by and circumstances remain the same.
Answers one so desperately wants. Accepting that answers might not be ours to have at this time. Refocusing. Getting eyes off of self and on to the Lord and others.

Shakespeare said it well, " God's goodness hath been great to thee---Let never day or night unhallowed pass but still remember what the Lord hath done."

So...as I steep my cuppa acceptance each morning this month, I'm going to reach for the sweetness that can accompany it----sereni-TEA---not an artificial sweetener to gloss over or deny. A true sweetness with truth from His word. (Psalm 119:103)
Tasting and seeing His goodness as I approach each day knowing that inner peace is possible even if the outward conditions do NOT change.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests......mental, emotional and physical health....look to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)

Liber-TEA : a needful cuppa

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, ...... (Proverbs 13:12, ESV)

Hope in mankind is flighty at best. Expectations often disappoint. Too many unfulfilled expectations can also make the heart sick. My friend Carolyn W. says, "expectations are premeditated resentment." We just set ourselves up. 

All relationships tend to involve expectations. It's how one manages those expectations that dictates the quality of one's life. False hope and unrealistic expectations are the RX for disappointment.

Daughter Molly and I discussed many such weighty topics yesterday during the intermission at Hattieloo's "If Scrooge was a Brother" production. The various trials of friends, our own fears and anxieties---the woes of the world and the woes of our own little world. Not exactly theater conversation but heartfelt reflection all the same.

There tends to be expectations of perfection in life.  Even expectations of people----which one probably needs to let go of---or at least "manage" correctly. When one sets perfection as a goal---that is mismanagement and negative feelings are the result. Anger and sadness emerge from the one who has SET the expectations. On the other hand, the emotions of anxiety and shame can result in the one who is trying to meet those unrealistic expectations of the other person, be it boss or spouse or parent.

Years ago, son Josh, listened to NPR's "Prairie Home Companion." Lake Wobegon the fictional town of Garrison Keiller, "where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."

To me, the name itself rings of WOES BE GONE!! That's the only way all those so -called perfect people could exist---in fiction! In reality, one needs freedom from dependence on man and transfer that dependence to God.

The way to sip from a cuppa liber-TEA is to align our desires and hopes with the Lord's will and let go of unrealistic expectations---because perfection only resides with Him....or possibly at Lake Wobegon.

reali-TEA

5/23/13 Pursuing info for my simpici-TEA sessions, I have realized that there are some things that people need to let go of in seeking a simple life. Perfection would be at the top of the list. Such a list could be entitled "Unrealistic Expectations." If one is truly seeking a life of spiritual simplici-TEA, adjustments in expectations are one of the beginning steps in order to waylay frustration.

For me, finding a perfect cup of tea is  an unrealistic expectation.
Close, but NOT perfect, so fruitless searching continues.
Not even sure what perfect would look like.
Just too many variables!
Adjustment needed---let go of this "silly" pursuit.
I need to let go and just enjoy the "cuppa" at hand!
What are yours?

Reali-TEA of unrealistic expectations is pretty much the same for all of us and the result is frustration!

Frustration: the difference between expectation and reality. 

Adjust your unrealistic expectations!