When I first learned Reiki, every thing was about problem solving. We’d request Reiki to help us make everything go our way – get well soon, get that score/ promotion/ job we wanted, let that nasty person stay away, or even something as simple as being able to eat gulab jamuns soon. But problems are a part of life. Get rid of one, and another takes it’s place. A desire for a problem-free life is a futile dream. We realised that life wasn’t about making things go your way, it was about learning to accept things as they are. So then we’d request Reiki to help us accept the situation as it was. It seemed we’d made great progress!

We know that happiness starts to seep in when we remain in the present moment. Chasing anything – money, power, fame, stability, a state of oneness in relationships, better marks, an award, give us temporary pleasure during the chase when we imagine our besotted future, and another few moments if we achieve it. Then we’re faced with the void again, and we need to chase something soon before we go insane. The only way to be free from this loop is to accept the present as it is.

This is where the catch comes in. While accepting things as they are is a beautiful endeavor, most of us forget that the desire to accept things as they are often comes from a desire to be at peace. Which is a sign that you are NOT accepting your present emotions as they are. So there is a big difference between really embracing things as they were, and the desire to accept things – because the latter is again a chase, and not in the present moment at all.

When a friend told me recently that he had been focused on being a better human being ever since he was little, I asked him why. Startled, he realised that the only reason he wanted to be better was because he didn’t accept himself for who he really was. We’re going to get better anyway, whether we like it or not. There may be short stints where we go crazy and appear like we’re regressing, but that is all part of the growth, and will happen even if we make growth the agenda of our lives. It is natural to grow. But if that drive – to be a better human being is replaced by a deep acceptance of ourselves with all our flaws, it will allow us to really experience peace, and to really love ourselves and others.

So love and peace are not a chase, they are in this moment, right now. All we need to do is completely relax into the present moment, no matter how uncomfortable it seems. Kind of like when we’re learning to swim for the first time, and the water terrifies us, and then we realise that we can trust the water, and slowly start to loosen up. We can trust life, we can slowly start to loosen up, slowly start to embrace what is, all the flaws included. Right Now.