I hope that’s a title worthy of making you a little intrigued. You are reading this, aren’t you?
For those unaware of this philosophy I teach, Acceptance without Understanding is the ability to see and accept the human being in front of you as they are, not as you perceive them to be. We are all so complex as human beings that it is impossible to understand someone fully, so the only decision you have is to accept them.
I do share more on all my social channels and in an upcoming book titled the same, “Acceptance without Understanding™.”
So here’s the story for context;
At 2:30 am, I was waiting for an Uber to get home; my phone was stolen out of my hand by a person riding an e-bicycle at a high rate of speed. It was over in less than a minute.
After standing in stunned silence for moments, I began to shake from the experience. Finally, I was able to re-enter the venue and seek help. They got me home in short order.
I was up to 4 am, locking my phone, disabling the SIM, changing passwords, etc.
After a short rest, I filed a police report, and I was done by 9:30 am and home for another rest.
At 10:30 am, Apple lost phone service and sent me an email that my phone was moving again. Unfortunately, this time it came to rest in a police station.
I headed to the police station. Two trains later found their public services closed, primarily a holding facility.
On my way home, I stopped back at my local police station, shared an update of what I had discovered and left it with them to contact that other station to see if my phone was there.
Exhaustion had caught up with me, and I slept for a few hours. I awoke to find an email from the arresting officer that my phone, along with 60 others, walked into the police station along with the person in possession of them all. He was arrested on another matter.
By 4 pm, I had my phone back in my hand as I gave the officer a statement.
What a Saturday of a Bank Holiday weekend (A long weekend for my North American readers).
Here’s how Acceptance without Understanding helped me throughout the day.
- I have pushed through many challenges over the last six years, and that strength I drew upon now, acceptance, is how I didn’t let being a victim stop me from acting. The reality is that all I wanted to do was crawl into a crevice and cry.
- I didn’t expect to get help as a woman with a transgender history and accept that I might have to walk 90 minutes home. However, I did get help and an almost immediate response to get me home safely. I thanked them on the phone and sent a written thanks later that day.
- I accepted my actions that led to that incident happening. So while I was not asking for it to happen, I made it easier for it to happen.
- I accepted what happened to me but wondered what sort of life that person had that led them to steal from me and many others.
- The transgender community globally have a poor record with the Police, and I had to prepare myself for that experience when filing a report. However, the experience was so good and respectful that I wrote a letter of recommendation for the constable who took my information.
- I do not have the discretionary finances to get a replacement phone; I knew I would have to risk future expenses and accept that my abilities and reputation as a speaker would secure enough work to cover the future shortfall.
Not the way I would have wanted to spend my day, but one that has taught me many things and dispelled many myths about myself and society. As a result, I feel freer while being cautious of the people and events surrounding me.
My intent in sharing this post is threefold.
- To share with you how acceptance can change your mindset in everyday life. How differently would you have reacted in this situation?
- To give you hope that not everything is as wrong as it seems.
To remind me
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