All for Acceptance
I'm back in my hometown today, typing these lines on a sultry afternoon. It's the hottest time of the year now and people are complaining a lot about the heat wave. I'm quite alright with the heat, as long as there's enough ventilation. The airiness of my house here makes the heat bearable.
I realised that most of us modern folks have become accustomed to air-conditioning. I grew up without such comforts and so remember a what it was like then. I dislike the thought of us getting soft and over-pampered by the conveniences of modern life. So I try not to over-indulge.
Which is why I do not sleep with the air-conditioner on. If you are tired enough--I often am on most nights--you'll fall asleep the moment you lie on your bed. Most people do not like the sticky discomfort of sweat; but I'm alright with it. If you learn to embrace sweat as something that's natural and even good for you, you'll get used to it.
Acceptance of what is, is key here. It is a skill that one can cultivate. Acknowledge the discomfort of heat. It's just a sensation on the body, like any other sensation. It causes you to sweat. It distracts you from work. But remember that one gets distracted because one allows oneself to be annoyed by what is.
Acceptance does not mean being submissive. There's nothing personal about weather; so there's no question of fighting it. Weather is a mutable phenomenon and one must align one's mind and body to it.
When we cocoon ourselves in the coolness of an air-conditioned room, we are trying to reshape nature to our liking. That is the genesis of life itself--defining and separating an internal state from the vicissitudes of external forces. A constant supply of energy is required to maintain this state of dis-equilibrium.
Acceptance means adapting to changes in the environment so that the optimum amount of energy is required to maintain one's state. The whole of life is the preservation of state--the grasping of things, the pushing away of annoyances, the elevation of pride and self-importance. That comes with a price. But do your accounting wisely, so that there's no unnecessary wastage.
Does fighting the heat enhances our productivity? If it does, pay for it. Turn on the air-conditioner so that you can work better. Does the heat bother you that much when you are sleeping? Perhaps. For some like me, it's no matter. I sleep just as well and wake up just as refreshed as anyone else. Acceptance makes one sleep very soundly indeed and I'm all for it.
