The Way Things Are

How many people ever truly realize that there's absolutely no way to change the way things are?  No matter how hard we may try, the way things are is the way things are, and we can do nothing about that.  The only way that we'll ever find peace in our lives and in our hearts is to recognize and accept that things are the way they are, and there's nothing we can do about that.

Now, that's not to say that we can't have a strong effect on the way things are going to be.  And if we don't like the way things are, then we can do our best to make sure that things won't be the same way two minutes from now, or two days, or two years.  We always can have an effect on the way that things are going to be in the future, and if we think that changes are in everyone's best interest, then let's do our best to make changes.  Just because things are the way they are doesn't mean that we have to allow them to continue to be that way.

But we're only putting ourselves in a position to feel a lot of frustration and annoyance if we worry too much about the way things are.  We're only setting ourselves up for disappointment if we wish that things were different.  We may want to see change, but change comes with time, not with wishing.  If we want to be the instrument of change then we certainly can be so, but the change isn't going to be immediate.

It probably isn't a good idea if we don't like the way things are to do nothing about it.  But we have to keep in mind that causing things to be a certain way two hours from now doesn't do anything to change the way things are at this moment.  With every change we see or cause, we see a new way that things are.  And it's worth avoiding the mental anguish of wishing they were some other way because there simply is no way to change the way things are.  So let's live with it, and enjoy it.