It-Is-As-It-Is-Itis

Life presents us with many glorious moments, interspersed with just as many (if not more) challenges. Most people don’t seem to have much difficulty getting through the glorious moments. With any luck whatsoever, we face the challenges bravely, with courage and conviction.

But even at the best of times, we can lose sight of the brilliant and get mired in the difficult. We can have internal doubts about ourselves, our role in the world, or our personal efficacy – even when we know, deep down inside, the truths that are self-evident.

Sometimes, it can all get lost in the mix of our day-to-day existence. Sometimes, we miss the forest for the proverbial trees.

Sometimes, we suffer from It-Is-As-It-Is-Itis.

Life is what it is, nothing more, nothing less. It is as it is. Things are the way they are. We can’t change the past, nor is there a value in bemoaning it. All of that sure does sound like a cliche at times.

But we have all been faced with an episodic ailment called It-Is-As-It-Is-Itis. It is an inflammation of sorts, a veritable disease that tends to prevent our capacity for Acceptance in our daily lives.

It could start with a few challenges, a few tough times. Try as we might, we strive to survive those challenges. We might be working tirelessly to see the light of day, but still feel like we are immersed in darkness. We might even find despair in the most common occurrences of our day.

Yes, that happens to all of us at one time or another – a little episode of It-Is-As-It-Is-Itis. It occurs when we fail to truly accept that life is as it is, in the here and now. We are not defined by our problems or our challenges. We define ourselves. Amazing as it may seem in the darkest moments, our sense of self remains intact if we allow it to do so. We can choose to let It-Is-As-It-Is-Itis get the better of us. Or we can stop and breath acceptance into our world. We can breath life back into ourselves, finding rejuvenation instead of frustration. We aren’t obligated to toil in this “disease” process. We can choose to be present in the moment.

Sometimes, letting go is the hardest thing to do. Or not do. Or both. But when we do, our world – and the world around us – becomes a much better place.

Photo credits: Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden