Acceptance means seeing the reality of a situation and acknowledging it. It is not necessary that you are bound to like it or endorse it to be able to accept it. Acceptance simply means not running away from reality and learning to face it.

In my opinion, acceptance is an intellectually and emotionally demanding action that only self-aware people are capable of doing. Or at least those who try to be self-aware, and shed light on themselves and their own actions instead of focusing only on the actions and behaviour of others. Acceptance can help us grow by forming a firm base of truth.

I think everyone should take out at the end of time each day to think about how things went throughout the day, what we said or did, and what others did. Practically speaking, sometimes things do go wrong and it is not easy to think positively and accept the situation, because life does not always treat us well. Sometimes, we are hurt by those we least expect to hurt us. We feel heartbroken at this. It is okay to feel that way. But with time, the wound heals and it becomes important to let go of the past and accept that whatever happened might have happened for our own good.

But we should also think that maybe we said or did something hurtful to the other person, because it is not always we who get hurt. And if we realise that we were wrong, we should find enough courage within ourselves to accept it and apologise for it. Even if the other person does not realise their mistakes, that is on them, not on us. We should do what we believe is morally right.

If we keep fighting reality or constantly thinking about revenge, we will only be putting ourselves through needless stress. It is like arguing with a past that is already gone, while we try to hold on to it with a thin string that will eventually snap or even cut our hand! We should recognise the gap between reality and the expectations we keep from others in order to set limitations and boundaries. To avoid repeating past mistakes, we should try to bridge that gap and save our energy from being wasted on “what ifs”. Instead, we should focus on the things that are meaningful to us and bring us happiness, things that can create a positive change in our lives.

If we make peace with our present, life can become a journey to be lived and appreciated, instead of a series of problems to solve one after another until we die, unhappy and unsatisfied. Life is short and unpredictable, so enjoy it to the fullest before it slips out of our hands.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 16th, 2026