Corona - Acceptance

I'm reading a book a friend gave me - "The Salt Path" by Raynor Winn.
https://www.bigissuenorth.com/reading-room/2019/04/author-qa-raynor-winn/#close

It's a very life affirming book & I am completely in awe of what she & her husband Moth achieved. I simply do not know how they had the physical & mental strength to do what they did. I'm looking forward to her next book due out this September - "The Wild Silence".

Reading the book made me think about "Acceptance". In a way it's a good book to read in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic. There is so much that has changed in all our lives & none of it has been under our control.

I used to think that acceptance was not a good thing at all. I spent most of my life trying to change things that I thought were either wrong or could be better. I once went on a management course when I was a headteacher. One of the tests revealed that I was a "Reformer". I hadn't really thought about that before, but realised that it was true. I could always see a better way to do things. I could always see what changes needed to be made. I couldn't leave well alone if it could function better.

Age has tempered the reforming zeal. I accept that my single voice will not change the world for the better. I also accept that things are rarely simple & binary. The big questions are always complex. You do have to accept some things in this life.

I can't accept unfairness, discrimination, unequal opportunity, infringement of human rights, the wanton destruction of our complex eco system, corrupt politicians & a corporate hierarchy hell bent on profit at all costs. There has to be a moral compass if society & wildlife is to survive.

I can accept that I am ageing, that my body isn't as good as it was, that my memory lets me down, that I live alone, that I can't travel to far flung & interesting places any more, meeting people with a different culture. There are all sorts of things that I have become habituated to - being unable to run, kneel down & get up again, do the housework, stay awake when reading... There is a long list.

Fighting adversity & unfairness is hard work. It's draining, physically & mentally. It always has been & will be mainly for the young & fit. I can still make my voice heard, but I can't go on marches any more. I certainly couldn't do a sit in - or even a stand in come to that. I'd never get up or be able to walk again!

I hope that there will always be people who challenge wrong, who stand up for right. But I am glad that I've learned a measure of acceptance. More than 3 months of shielding would have been intolerable if I hadn't.