I have a thing I would love to ask you guys about. It is bothering me now for a long time.

As we all now we should not act on our thoughts. We should accept them as they come and go. If I get sad, I should meditate on my sadness, be mindful to it, but do not need to act on it. Isn’t it right? Come back to the present moment, do not allow the future to occupy all our energy and time. That is a very important principle from Buddhism. But I have a feeling, that I become very passive this way.

For example, my job sucks (it does not, this is only an example), but I do accept it. I go to work every day, suffer there, but take it as a zen training. I do not develop at my job, do the same thing every single day but again, accept it as it is. Wouldn’t it be right to change my job instead? Try something else where I could use my talents? I sometimes get very confused by this ACCEPTING THINGS AS THEY ARE. Why not take an action and be pro-active? Why suffer if I could do something else instead? Is this something that I am misunderstanding?

What about a relationship that is not working? What if people stuck in them and hurt each other? Should we also accept them as they are? What if I suddenly prefer to be alone? Should I stay with my husband only because I should not react… ? This is a bit confusing and I need your help.

I am sometimes very afraid that Buddhism is a very passive philosophy, and I am a very active as a person. I really do hope that there is something that I am missing here...