Remember To Accept - # 171

Kate Lila Wheeler* impressed me with her Daily Dharma Talk yesterday using the eponymous title of my blog post. (Note: I'm not sure I'm using eponymous correctly, please advise me if I am not and tell me how to phrase it to indicate that I'm using the same words for my title. I keep seeing eponymous in my reading and wanted to take a stab at using it. We haven't had a new word for awhile. Thank you in advance!)

As you know from previous posts, at my house we have been entertaining out of town guests.  I noticed during these few weeks, when I asked if someone would want, for example, eggs for breakfast, the answer was "sure". Would you like another slice of Life Changing Bread? Would you want to visit the Des Moines Art Center? Almost anything I offered engendered the same answer - "sure".

It felt so good when they accepted my gifts. They trusted what I offered. There was no questioning if it was too much trouble for me. They didn't try and control my offer by suggesting it would be too much work or that they would be happy to do it for themselves.  
They just said "sure"! When they didn't say "sure", they said no. No excuses or apologies. Just no. I was good with that too.

Kate presented a multilayered wisdom filled explanation of what remember to accept meant to her. I wish you could all hear it! I may be referring to it in future posts.

Is it easy for you to "remember to accept"? What makes it hard for you? Do you need to remember to accept? Can you remember to accept the difficult happenings?

Let me know in the comments section or send me an email by replying to this message.

Thank you for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall

*Kate Lila Wheeler went to her first Buddhist retreat in 1977, was briefly ordained as a nun in Burma and is supported to teach by Theravadan and Vajrayana mentors. She’s interested in helping others find their own way via a balance of clear method and joyous relaxation. Kate Lila also writes fiction and has edited two books published in English by her Burmese preceptor, Sayadawgyi U Pandita (who is still teaching at 93!). She lives in the Boston area with her husband, anthropologist and fellow writer David Guss. You can find out more about her teaching at her website.

For more of Kate’s work click here: http://katewheeler.com/

Flowers are from our wedding, 2009. The picture just turned up on a flash drive!