Friday, May 11, 2007

The Story of Mr. X

One thing that I learned over the last two months is that one secret to happiness is not understanding why things happen but rather that happiness comes when one learns to accept the events that happen and the people that come in one's life.


Let us take a case study:


Mr. X have been very depressed for a long time because his mom abandoned their family when he was 16 and his dad had to struggle to feed 5 children. Being the eldest, Mr. X had to assume more responsibility than any kid of his age need to have.


Now, Mr. X has been very unhappy because he has always tried to find out why all this happened to him. He has been quite a good person and has not really hurt other people. But he wonders why such a good person like him can experience so much pain. He wonders if he exists just because he has to suffer.


After a while, Mr. X got really tired of being sad and got a piece of paper and a pen. Instead of writing down his musings he started each sentence in his diary entry with the words, "I accept..." For example, I accept my parents because if they were different people, I would have a different set of DNA and I would not be me. I accept that my mom left us. I accept this and that. I accept...


After the exercise (which Mr. X found really tough), Mr. X became happier. He realized that he does not NEED to understand why these things happen. He just needs to accept them first and then naturally the understanding part comes. :)


The point of this story is simple. Accept yourself. Accept your life. Accept your past. Move forward. Live and learn. Life is very simple. :)

Posted by Erica Cleofe at 15:37

2 comments:

  1. Blogger Andy on May 14, 2007 9:05 AM

    Really nice story, and once again a very good text. You really have a point there, again. What has happened has happened. We should live with the things in the past, instead of walking around in a circle asking why it happened. Only when you are in peace with what has happened you can take the next step, learning from it and look ahead. Otherwise you just leave in the same spot. Isn't the first step in crisis therapy also acceptance of what has happened?

  2. Blogger Tomi Astikainen on May 15, 2007 11:35 AM

    Long ago there was a stupid Saturday-night match-making show in Finnish TV called "Napakymppi" ("Bull's Eye").

    There was Mr. X who was asking questions from three female "candidates" on the other side (who he couldn't see). He was also completely clueless of everything and finally when he picked up the ugliest one of the three, he just had to accept it and go to a vacation with her.

    That's the life of Mr. X. Wouldn't like to be him. :)

    -Tomi

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