Acceptance

TMON-91: The Myth of Normal, Chapter 26, Song 4
Alex Hickey ©2025
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This song is based on information in Chapter 26 of The Myth of Normal, a book written by Dr. Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté. You can find more information about this book on Dr. Maté's website: https://drgabormate.com/book/the-myth-of-n...

I am writing a series of songs in response to the ideas in this book, sometimes in combination with ideas from other books by Dr. Maté and some of his colleagues.

These are my interpretations of these ideas. I acknowledge that I can make mistakes, misunderstand and/or take poetic license when transforming these ideas into songs. I welcome questions in the comments section and refer you to the book itself as the final authority about what it is saying.

Lyrics:
How do we learn to accept how things are?
Sometimes that feels like a pretty high bar.
We want to resist, to fight back, to say “No.
That’s not the way that I want things to go.”

Chorus:
Lord grant me, the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
Lord grant me, the courage
To change the things I can
And the wisdom, to know the difference.

First thing to do is to feel all the feels
That’s how we gauge what is actually real
Our anger, our grief, our joy lets us know
They point the direction that we need to go.

Chorus

So keep an eye out for reactivity
When we are triggered, it’s harder to see
Find a way to inquire; to look deep inside
That’s where the truth is most likely to hide.

Chorus

Acceptance does not mean that we tolerate
Living with violence, abuse or with hate
It’s not complacency or resignation
More of an internal United Nations

The Chair recognizes the State of Resistance
Then Anger and Hatred, Fear and Trepidation
Everyone is welcome here; everyone can speak
Joining in accountability; joining in grief

How do we learn to accept how things are?
Sometimes that feels like a pretty high bar.
We want to resist, to fight back, to say “No.
That’s not the way that I want things to go.”

Chorus

#gabormate #acceptance #serenityprayer