Acceptance

About a year ago I was moved to a new desk at work.  Pinned to the wall in my cubicle was this poem.

"Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment."

I found out it comes from the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous.  I really liked the poem and left it up.  When I found myself getting frustrated with people and situations at work, the poem would always be right there keeping me in check.  It is a gentle reminder of what I learned in massage school many years ago, "stress" is a person's reaction to events in their life. 

The poem reminded me to take responsibility for what I can control - myself, my outlook, and those thoughts are created after the initial stressor comes onto my radar.  Eventually I left the job, and I also left the poem pinned up for the next person that would occupy the desk.  And I leave it also for you.