Just in case you were wondering Dear One, the antidote to conflict is acceptance.

Complete and total acceptance.

Not approval.  Not agreement.  Not compromise.  Not settling.  Not accommodating.  Not pretending.  Not lying.  Not cheating. Not faking it.  And most definitely not resignation.

If you want to diffuse a conflict Dear One, accept what is, exactly as it is, for exactly what it is, as quickly as you possibly can.

And once you do, once you stop pushing, resisting, railing against what is, once you let go of the emotional charge that conflict brings to a situation, then, and only then, will you be in a position (a very powerful one actually) to make a thoughtful, rational, intentional, and heartfelt decision about what you are going to do next.

Whether you are painting pictures, writing poetry, baking bread, balancing spreadsheets, fixing cars, teaching Spanish, selling stocks, playing the flute, designing skyscrapers, or sketching tattoos – what you do today Dear One, is of less importance to us than how you feel while you are doing it.

Everyone is a teacher Dear One.

Everyone around you has something to teach you.

Yes, everyone.

But here is the thing.

The value, the importance, the significance, the impact of the lessons that they have to share with you has practically nothing to do with how good of a teacher they are, and absolutely everything to do with how of good of a student you choose to be.

Believe it or not Dear One, your bad feelings are not actually the source of your pain, they are not actually the source of your discomfort.  So you can stop wrongly accusing them of being so.

Your bad feelings are merely a symptom.

They are a symptom that arises when what you want, what you desire, what you feel you deserve, what you feel you are entitled to, is not in alignment with, or a reflection of, what you’ve got.

And here are two ways that you can go about finding relief from this very uncomfortable symptom Dear One:

• Get what  you want, and do it in such a way that you enjoy the process of doing so. (That last part is really important).

• Want something else, maybe even something that you’ve already got.

(And if you were just thinking that that last one sounded a whole lot like we were talking about gratitude here Dear One, you should know, that you’d be right.)

Before you do anything else today Dear One, stop and take a minute to think about the stories that you tell, that you have been telling, to yourself, and to everyone around you, about your life, about your work, about your relationships, about your health, about your wealth, about what’s possible, about what’s not, etc.

• Have they been positive or negative, optimistic or pessimistic, comedies or tragedies? Are they fact or fiction?  Are they from the heart or from the head? Do they create an expectation of a happy ending or an unhappy one?

Then take notice of what has been showing up for you lately; in your work, in your relationships, in your physical body, in your environment, etc.

If you like what you see, if you are pleased with what is coming your way, great!  Keep right on telling the same kinds of stories that you have been telling.

But, if that is not the case Dear One, if what is showing up for you is not what you were hoping for, then it may be time for you to start telling new ones.

Why not start today?

The more creative you are Dear One, the more you trust yourself, follow your heart, and allow yourself to color outside the lines, the more you will be living a life that is of service to life itself.

We know that it can feel like the act of doing something new, of changing your patterns of behavior, your thoughts, your actions, your habits, your beliefs, your relationships, will require a great deal of effort and struggle for you to achieve Dear One.  But the truth is that movement, progress, change, has, does, and always will require significantly less effort from you than trying to remain in one place ever will.

As you already know very well from experience, trying to stand still in the constantly flowing river of life requires so much more effort than trusting, letting go, and allowing yourself to go with the flow.

So today, we would like you to consider the possibility Dear One, that you just may have had it backwards — that maybe, just maybe, it is your resistance to change, and not change itself, that is making the process feel so challenging for you.

Optimism is one of many very powerful tools that you have at your disposal Dear One, and we would love to see you pulling it out and using it a lot more often than you have been.

Decide right now that you are going to be optimistic today – that you are going to look for, expect, anticipate, and acknowledge only the best in every person, situation, opportunity, and circumstance that you encounter.

Don’t think about whether or not you should,  could, or will be able to do it – just do it, and see what happens.

Pessimism, doubt, negativity, and judgment will all still be there for you if you need them, if you should discover that you really just can’t live without them.

So why not give it a shot.

What have you got to lose?

There is you, and then there are your thoughts Dear One.

Both of equal significance, but not one in the same.

So remember, that when your thoughts are racing, raging, spinning, tossing, turning, pitching, or falling, that the rest of you does not need to follow suit.