I am at a time in my life where I realize that things will never be the same. In these unprecedented times I have found that I need to understand acceptance more than anything in my life. Acceptance is the door to my own peace and serenity. It means that I do not have to fight against the realities of my life, but accept them for what they are and use them to grow as a person and move forward in my life. The process of acceptance has been a journey that has brought me many places, through many people’s lives, into worlds that I did not know existed.
Learning to accept myself, all of the good and all the flaws, has led me down a path, sometimes a path of resistance. Resistance to see the truth to be able to completely surrender my life.
I remember being so lost, not sure of life or me, no idea what the present had to bring, let alone the future. The ups and downs, the steps forward, the setbacks, the loneliness, the isolation, the guilt, the shame, the awareness, the joy, the gratitude, what a ride it has been to acceptance. The resistance to change was not knowing that change was necessary or needed. Blessed with the ideal of NO MATTER WHAT. No matter what as long as I stay in the process my life is going to change, I am going to change. The more that I work on bettering myself the less I feel it necessary to hurt my spirit. Once I know I can’t go back to not knowing. I must move forward. I can no longer lie to myself in my own voice. My acceptance of myself is directly related to how I treat myself and others. Moving through the process of acceptance has helped me to heal in the following ways:
Learning to have stronger feelings of empathy
Opening my heart and soul to my own personal forgiveness
Some practices I use to help with personal acceptance:
Mindfulness meditation – This practice has helped me to be more “present” in my daily life and to feel peace and serenity.
Create a new mindset – A state of mind I feel when I begin something new without understanding what the outcome may be. My mind is free of biases and opinions about the situation. I find that having this state of mind has become a crucial part of my acceptance.
Practicing humility – Understanding that I have limitations and may need help. Accepting this part of my life gives me a stronger sense of my strengths and opens me up to getting the help I need to recover.
Understand my own fallibility – I make mistakes. Making mistakes is a part of life. Accepting the mistakes I have made and taking charge of healing from them, has shown me that recovery is possible and that there is always a solution.