Acceptance vs Understanding

For a number of years I've been engaged in a quest for spiritual wholeness. At least that's the best way I have of describing the concept. I was baptized, Sunday schooled and confirmed in the Lutheran church under the care of a doubting mother and an atheist Southern-Baptist-raised father. But it didn't take on me. So in one way or another I've been searching for something to fill that spiritual void inside. Along the way I've run across a number of interesting concepts that I like for their sheer logic and simplicity. Consider acceptance versus understanding. It's an Eastern notion that I have made a real effort to incorporate into my everyday thought process since I first became aware of it eight or so years ago. A vs E is incredibly simple and has given me a deeper sense of peace when pondering life's various issues. It goes like this. In the Western, or more specifically, American mindset, we don't just ask for, we often demand the understanding of something before we are willing to accept it. In Eastern thinking we are introduced to the idea that often, if we will only accept, understanding follows. And the understanding that comes to an open, accepting mind is clearer and easier to incorporate into your life than the up-front variety that is colored by stubbornness and preconceived notions. I have found that this way of thinking is a tremendous stress reducer. It's calming and rational and meditative. Not the easiest thing for us to wrap our American brains around, but worth the effort. Try it. But you'll have to accept the idea before you can truly understand and benefit from it. And if you think that sounds like a catch-22, you just might be right. Then again, being right isn't necessarily the road to happiness.