Acceptance

I didn't want to move to Ocean Shores -- my wife wasn't too thrilled with it either.  But this was how the cards fell.  

We have now lived in our 690 sq. ft. apartment for going on 3 1/2 years.  We've made some friends.  There are organizations we are involved with.  We have sort of adopted our 15 year old neighbor as our pseudo-granddaughter.

I'm still not overly thrilled with living in this town that caters to tourists, but I've learned to accept it.  This is where we've landed, so we are trying to make the best of it.

And that's a big life lesson.  You don't always get what you want.  It is not uncommon for circumstances to dictate the situation.  While there are times and variables that are in one's control, much of our lives are dictated by external forces.

The old Taoist adage is certainly true.  Learning to go with the flow -- acceptance -- is far easier (and less stressful) than constantly trying to swim upstream.  

Why fight the current when the vast majority of the time all it means is that you wear yourself out and yet find yourself in more or less the same spot?