Accepting the imperfections of our life is the road to peace. When we judge ourselves and others, this only leads to a sense of loss and discontent. We must find a way to move beyond the need for things to be perfect in our life and the associated judgments of right and wrong, success and failure. One might think that attaining joy or happiness is the goal. And that this would include, by definition, the absence of fear, pain and worry. However, we can go beyond even this duality and see the goal as the ability to accept ourselves for who we are, in and amongst all of the joy and the fear, successes and failures. Then, whatever is happening, we can connect to it from a greater perspective.
Self-esteem, self-worth, self-love are all, in my opinion, lacking in most of the people on this Earth. Low self-esteem is the opposite of acceptance. It is judgment, feelings of inadequacy and discontentment. It can come as thoughts that ‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘Things ought to be different than what they are. The grass is greener over there.” Acceptance, on the other hand, does not see a problem. It’s not that you want to ignore things that may indeed need some change or healing. But, the view or attitude comes from a place of love, from a view that whatever is happening – I’m not flawed. Yes, there are things that can be improved, but we do not view all of life through this “problem-lense” We can cut ourselves some slack and know that we are fundamentally whole.
It’s amazing how pervasive this negative self-view and self-judgment actually is. And we know that if we are judging ourself like this, there will be judgment projected to the outside. It can be a big step to accept ourselves. It may feel foreign – even arrogant – at first. But, in fact, it is the most loving you can be to yourself.
Acceptance is up to each one of us to practice and discover. It does not take a lot of intellectual effort and it cannot be forced. It is a choice in each moment. Stop for a moment, choose for a different thought – for the ascension attitude – and notice the beauty around you and in this very moment. Accepting the flaws and the ugly things are sometimes the most powerful act of choice there is. When we choose for the ascension attitude, we are making a statement that we will not allow negative and limiting thoughts about ourselves or about anything to alter our reality and peace in the moment. We are worth more than that.
Rising Beyond 