From--The CHI Revolution by Bruce Frantzis

The ability to be present in your life is not determined by where you are or where you are going to be. It'a about being awake to your experience through each moment without wanting it to be better or different. Many people spend a good portion of their lives fighting the circumstances around them; they want their relationoships to be other than what they are, life to be better than it is; they'd like to twist some aspect of life into something it is not.
When you can be fully present to your experience, you see life as it is, without filters. You don't make excuses or blame others for the circumstances under which you find yourself. Now, you may not necessarily love the current state of your affairs, whether physical emotional, mental or spiritual. However, when you can look at any situation for what it is truly and turn your focus away from the negative emotions, you gain the ability to change. Perhaps you won't be able to change the circumstances, bu you can change how you deal with those circumstances. As long as you reject the state you are in, you lose the ability to change. Acceptance will keep you from becoming a prisoner that is tied up inside by your thoughts and emotions.