What You Accept Transforms 🎶✨
- Rev. Thomas DeSchutter
- Aug 26
- 2 min read
Life has a funny way of handing us situations we never saw coming. Sometimes it feels like a jungle—wild, unchanging, stubborn. We can yell at it all we want, but the jungle just keeps on being the jungle. That’s where the gift of acceptance comes in. Not resignation, not defeat—true acceptance. Because what you accept, transforms.
Buddhist teachings remind us that acceptance is the first step toward transformation. Jesus taught the same in his way: acceptance of God’s will—life itself unfolding. When we stop resisting what is and open ourselves to the moment, something shifts. We transcend. We rise above. We grow.
Think of it like drumming: you don’t fight the rhythm; you lean into it. You accept the beat and then you transform it into music. That’s how life works too.
I saw this play out in my own family when my daughter’s scholarship program was suddenly cut. Shock, disappointment, tears—sure. But instead of clinging to the loss, she accepted the reality and stepped into action. The result? A new opportunity, a better opportunity, and a school that actually fits her dreams. What looked like an ending became a rebirth. That’s transformation in real time.
The Buddha laid out the Four Noble Truths: yes, there’s suffering; yes, craving and clinging keep it going; yes, release is possible; and yes, there’s a path forward—the Eightfold Path. Paul said it another way: “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) Both point us to the same truth: transformation begins with acceptance first and moves into action second.
So here’s the beat you’re invited to play today:
● Accept what life lays down.
● Transform it through faith, practice, and presence.
● Act with love, integrity, and courage.
Because Unity Principle #5 reminds us: action is required. Transformation doesn’t happen by wishful thinking—it happens by saying yes to the moment and stepping forward.
🔥 Drum roll, cymbal crash, life continues. And what you accept, truly transforms.
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