Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Love Lesson of Sunsets: Radical Appreciation & Acceptance


I’m learning so much about life by watching and admiring the daily sunsets here at the ranch.

Sometimes they are fiery red, all passionately ablaze.

Sometimes they are spectacular, knock your socks off, oranges and pinks,
painted wildly across the sky, like the Universe’s personal canvas.

Sometimes they are soft, light, comforting hues of pinks,
gracefully caressing the horizon.

Sometimes day just fades to dusk in gentle shades of yellow, peach, or grey.

And sometimes, a sunset that seems as if it will go off without a bang, surprises you with burning fireworks of glory, right at the end.

Each is so different, and it’s quite easy to grow a fondness for the most striking ones, and feel a tad disappointed when the sky fails to live up to yesterday’s amazement.

Yet all are beautiful when you approach them with gratitude in your heart, with appreciation for the opportunity to watch the process unfold once again.

And a willingness to accept them as they are, rather than as you would want them to be.

Even the subtle ones, are naturally stunning in their own right, if you’re not expecting them to be something they are not.

There seems to be a striking lesson in life and love here for the taking:

You can extract every possible moment of pleasure from life, from your relationship when you accept life, when you accept your partner, exactly as they are. Not needing them to be other than they are, right this moment.

Just approaching them with appreciation, soaking up whatever beauty stands before you, in whatever form it has manifested.

I realized that this gift of unconditional acceptance is perhaps Greg’s biggest gift to me. He gives it daily.

No matter how I show up, he finds a way to see the beauty in it and by doing so, I’m encouraged to raise myself up to be a more beautiful person.


To match the beauty he sees. Then suddenly, I get to see it in myself too.

Dear Readers: Not that you should never request change, but just for today, I invite you to practice radical appreciation & acceptance of What Is.

Maintain a child-like curiosity: “I wonder how it will go down today?!” Find beauty in all of it’s facets.

Notice the difference it makes in your heart.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a wonderful post! I am going to be thinking about it all day!

Thank you!

:) Kim

Good Vibe Coach said...

Great post, my friend!

Partners like Greg are powerful access points for us to indeed see our OWN beauty.

Thanks for a post that inspires us to appreciate whatever we see. :)

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this. I read it with an eye for the sunshine as the thick of a relationship and the rise and set of that sun corresponding to the flash and fizzle of many relationships.

Oh, if only we could all approach the things in our lives with a spirit of acceptance and that same childlike curiosity you encourage! We'd end up with longer, more fulfilling relationships and retain more friends when our romantic attractions are no longer sustainable.

Greg is THE MAN. Shows you great love AND cooks? That's a value!

Seth

Dr. Jenn said...

Thanks Seth!

Oh, if only it were easier to do! Comes naturally to only a few- the rest of us need to develop it as a rewarding habit.

But you make a good point that I only hinted at: yes every relationship will have it's gorgeous moments and it's highs and lows- and it's all of those together that paint a beautiful palette of love.

Course, that's easy for me to say, with Greg always painting me in rosy tones!