“Change, Remove or Accept … All Else is Madness!,” is a quote from Eckhart Tolle, homeless man turned best-selling author and spiritual leader for our generation. It was given to me by one of my teachers, Linda Baffa, who recently gave birth 8 weeks premature while vacationing in Hawaii. Linda faced her share of challenges through the process – including a forced 5 week stay in the Ronald McDonald House while her son was growing stronger in the NICU. Ultimately, she knew she could not change the situation, could not remove herself from the situation, and did not want to succumb to madness. Acceptance was the only option.

I recently had my own battle with acceptance. There is something I very much wanted to happen in my life, and for a brief moment I thought it may be true. In fact, I have wanted this and nothing else for many years. But, ultimately, I had to accept it actually would not come to fruition. At least not now.

At first, I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw my hands up in tantrum. I wanted to shout out, “It’s not fair!” Then, I realized this urge was due to a latent tendency in my being. In yoga, we call these tendencies samskaras – which is a world for a circular pattern of behavior or thoughts. We all have samskaras acquired throughout our life or sometimes those we are born with. One of mine is a feeling of entitlement. I often feel that just because I want something means I deserve it.

The reality is I don’t “deserve” anything more than the right to be here and take up space. This is true of us all. We are given this one gift as our birthright, and all else that we may receive is simply a bonus. Once I looked around and accepted this fact, I felt an immediate sense of relief, peace and stillness of heart.

What do you need to accept? You don’t need hours of therapy, medication or a giant resolution with another person to gain acceptance over your life and your samskaras. You simply need to say, “Okay, I accept.” Try it. Feel it in your next meditation or yoga class. Seek acceptance.