Discovering another layer of acceptance…

This blog was drafted a few days after the first of two transformational retreats. As I looked back and re-read it, it was telling of what was about to transpire. I was about to discover another layer of acceptance. The lesson…we always know what is coming…the question is are we ready to see it? It wasn’t until I read the blog more than a week after all was said and done was I able to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ what I was telling mySelf!

Enjoy!

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Monday, January 7th was Martin Luther King Day. A day we stop and pause to consider how we treat and engage with one another. The official name of the day is “Martin Luther King Day of Service. It’s  intended to empower individuals, strengthen communities, bridge barriers, create solutions to social problems, and move us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community.”

In my mind what lies at the heart of a “Beloved Community” is acceptance. I have the opportunity to be a part of a transformational retreat where women have an opportunity to Re-Imagine themselves. Martin Luther King day fell on day two. As I engaged and watched the women move through some very difficult conversations what occurred to me is; how often we look to fix what is outside of us before we look to and accept what lies within?

Before we can create solutions to social problems we must first be willing to accept our internal state of being. Consider how many fathers do not know how to talk to their sons, or mothers to their daughters? How many people are willing to feed others and yet we starve ourself? I completely agree with the intention of Doctor King’s legacy. What I’m inviting you to consider is building community within your self.

How often do we look to fix what is outside of us before we look within?

How often do you take the time to ask yourself the question “Is this who I want to BE? Am I willing to accept my whole self? Even the bits I want to deny?  What are the measurements I’m using to know if I’m in alignment with mySelf? Does each day feed my soul? Do I accept who I am?

Somewhere along the line we stop asking these questions…or, do we ever really ask?

Before I can accept or see another, I must first be willing to accept, and see mySelf. Seems simple enough, and yet, so many of us are walking around with this secret…the secret of, we don’t want to really see or know who we are. If I can’t love myself unconditionally how can I love, and accept, another without conditions attached?

True acceptance comes with no conditions

True acceptance is often hidden beneath the layers of expectations that we have of our ourselves and others. What conditions do we place on ourself and others we interact with in our daily life? What happens when we don’t meet our own expectations or when others don’t meet the expectations we put on them? Discomfort, dis-ease, a sense of unworthiness, the list goes on.

When I can accept who I am, when I’m willing to SEE mySelf, I open the door for others to accept and see me!

Until the next time,

Lisa