A life of well-being is a life successful in accommodation and adaptation. Of course, we do it all the time. We can't stop the winter, but we adapt to the cold by heating our homes and wearing warm clothes. We can't stop the heat of summer, so we accommodate the change and make adaptations. "I hate the cold!" "I can't stand this heat!" might feel good in the venting, but accomplish little in making life better.
The Daodejing (23) reminds us:
Express yourself completely, then keep quiet. Be like the forces of nature: when it blows, there is only wind; when it rains, there is only rain; when the clouds pass, the sun shines through. If you open yourself to the Tao, you are at one with the Tao and you can embody it completely. If you open yourself to insight, you are at one with insight and you can use it completely. If you open yourself to loss, you are at one with loss and you can accept it completely. Open yourself to the Tao, then trust your natural responses; and everything will fall into place. (Mitchell, Stephen. Tao Te Ching: A New English Version, Perennial Classics: HarperCollins.)Jesus asked us to consider the birds that:
neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? (Matt 6:26-27)The serenity prayer says:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.We know this is true. As we accommodate the new coronavirus world with its myriad uncertainties, with wisdom we will adapt to the changes. Life will without doubt be different, but with care, compassion, and good sense we will adapt and life will be better again.
Be well today,
+Ab. Andy