The amount of snow that has fallen this winter has created lots of opportunities for accepting what we cannot change.  Whenever something difficult comes into our lives, whether it is a difficult situation or a difficult person, there are three steps we need to take:

1. Change It
2. Accept It
3. Leave It

Let’s go through these steps in terms of dealing with snow
1. Change It – We can’t.  It snows in the winter.
2. Accept It – If we can’t change it, we need to accept it with a positive attitude*
3. Leave It – If we can’t accept it with a positive attitude, we need to move to a warm climate. And if we can’t move to a warm climate, we need to go back to step 2.

The 4th step – staying stuck and complaining – is not a step.  It’s a passive victim role.  It leaves you feeling angry and frustrated for five months out of the year.  That is a big percentage of your life to be unhappy about something you can’t change.

* Some notes about step 2 – When we can’t change situations or people, our only option is to change ourselves.  We can always change how we think and act in a situation.  This is made easier through practicing gratitude.  As you shovel, you might be grateful that you have two arms and two legs, that you have a warm house, and that you have a job to go to.

Step 2 is also made easier through practicing appreciation.  You might appreciate how the dormancy of winter supports the new life of spring, or the fact that no two of the billions of snowflakes you are shoveling are the same, or you might flop down and make a snow angel

Abraham Lincoln said, “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”  He was right!