(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.)

 

A toleration is something that is an irritant, a nuisance, or perhaps even painful. It’s something that causes you to spend energy just by carrying it around, even when you don’t do anything about it. In fact if you did do something about it, you would stop wasting the energy.

Areas in which you may have tolerations are your body (shape or weight), your money (not enough or too hard to get), your relationships (unsatisfying or even damaging), your environment (messy desk or broken appliance), and your freedom (what’s that?). The fact is, we humans are easily capable of carrying around many tolerations, at great personal cost.

To exhibit tolerance is to see that things are the way they are for a reason and relax into reality. You can’t change the world. You can’t change someone else. You can only change how you react.

Tolerance is the skill of bending with the world so you can direct your energy to create what you want. Tolerance gives you energy. To suffer tolerations costs you energy. Notice the difference.

Learn where it’s useful to rise to tolerance and where it’s useful to handle a toleration and stop the pain.

 

Copyright 1999 Steve Straus. All rights reserved.