My quick stab:
Acceptance: In any situation complete acceptance is necessary for motivated, consistent and joyful action. No matter how bad the situation you must accept all the possibilities and probabilities you have to deal with. Otherwise, you block possible solutions that are too difficult or frightening or you don't anticipate outcomes which you fear. Without complete acceptance you will always have an inaccurate view of reality, even to a small to degree this can cause needless pain. The key to acceptance is finding your center, your place of reference. Meditation can develop this ability in the long term, in the short term gravitating towards thoughts and feelings that you fear and understanding them will allow you to see beyond them, to see the way reality truly is.
Desire: Understanding what drives you is fundamental in taking meaningful action. Acceptance allows you to see your desires clearly without judgment but desire itself is something that must be cultivated beyond a mere acknowledgment of its existence. It is important to differentiate between desire and craving. Craving is desire applied under inaccurate beliefs because of a lack of acceptance. Desire isn't clingy, it is both spontaneous and ordered. Imagination is the key to unlocking desire. When you imagine taking a desirable action it allows a person to understand how the desire can be fulfilled and what portion of your being you are trying to express.
Awareness: Now that you have accepted yourself and allowed your creative desires to flow you must direct that energy in an efficient and effective way. You must be aware of what you know and what you don't. Imagination, again, can be useful in examining the road ahead and also the tools you possess. Raising your awareness is a skill that can be focused in the short term by trial and error, if you start walking down the road you are bound to make progress. In the long term various heuristics can be developed, however, reason can only take you so far without experiencing failure and success, so there is an important balance.
Action: Action is not simply an offshoot of desire. Desire is the gas but (effective) action is the correct combustion. Awareness is the steering so it also cannot fully accomplish the skill of action. Action is distinct from reaction, reaction is a poor expenditure of energy because it is focused on perceived dire threats. Even in situation where action must be taken quickly reaction is to explosive and unfocused to be of any good. Action allows awareness to be raised by immersing yourself in possibilities and forcing an outcome. The ability to immerse yourself in possibilities and outcomes consistently is action.
Thats all I got.  |