Acceptance of Self and Each Other

Acceptance of ourselves and each other.
 
How do you feel in your body even reading that statement? What does the word acceptance mean to you and for you in your own life and personal story? Do you feel as though you have embraced acceptance of yourself and those in your life?
 
The first piece of the acceptance puzzle that I want to name is that accepting someone or something does not mean complacency or enabling.

It does not mean that we turn a blind eye to patterns of dysfunction in ourselves or others.
 
What it does mean is that when we can accept the whole of who we are and who our fellow humans are, thenwe can shift, change, grow, morph and evolve into more aligned humans waking through the world. We can accept each other for our own human flaws, messiness, chaos, and beauty while simultaneously encouraging, holding space for, and ushering each other through a portal of possibility.
 
When we meet ourselves and each other with tension and judgment, there is a natural recoil. We may inadvertently cause harm and are not supportive of our own or another’s change process.
 
When we can soften in acceptance of where we are in our lives, in our bodies, in our relationships…from that place of compassionate receptivity, we can begin to shift and change.
 
Acceptance has been swirling in my household as of late on many levels.
 
Opening up in my interview on Motherhood Uncut Podcast about how little I felt accepted as a struggling single mom, certainly catalyzed a deep awareness around human interactions. It clarified in me why I am so passionate about creating these containers of safety for women to come together to BE themselves and feel that loving acceptance of exactly who they are.
 
It also has bubbled up in watching my 14-year old son, a new freshman in high school, struggle socially and his experience of not being accepted for who he is. Excruciating to witness as a mother and affirming to me that as adults, we can do this work of acceptance, and then we can model it to our children. We can teach our children to be accepting of each other. We can teach our children how to be kind and caring and compassionate.
 
And, then, of course it is popping up in my relationship with my partner, Michael, around accepting each other for who we are, in our very imprinted late 40s, while simultaneously holding the space of possibility for growth. To not push our agenda on each other, but rather allowing and encouraging the evolution of our souls. Not easy work, yet a tremendous mirror into humanity and how best to cultivate that feeling of acceptance of Self and the Other.
 
When we accept ourselves, then we can change. To me, acceptance of ourselves is a moment-by-moment practice to bring into our lives. To learn how to meet ourselves, no matter what is swirling in and around us, with acceptance.

To remember that we have choice in every moment around how we are approaching our beautiful, human selves, and to choose to be kind, compassionate, and accepting of all of the textures and flavors of our humanity.
 
Not always an easy trajectory to take, yet creates incredible ripples in the world.

We can choose to move through life emanating acceptance and allow that to impact all of those that we are in relationship with…beginning with ourselves, to our most intimate relations, to our children and families, and to our communities at large.
 
I will leave you with these questions to ponder in yourselves and, hopefully, provide a moment of reflection around your own relationship with acceptance and how that relationship impacts how you move through the world on a micro and macro level:
 

• How can we, as individuals, shift the tides towards acceptance rather than judgment? Inclusion rather than exclusion? Love rather than hatred?

• How can we continuously choose to cultivate immense compassion for the human experience in all flavors?

• What impact do you want to have in your lifetime on the world at large? In your closest circles? In your communities?

• Where do you see and feel the gaps within your own process of acceptance? Both in yourself and with others?

 
 
As always, I would love to hear how this inquiry lands in you and am out here for any support and/or guidance along the way!
 
Please reach out anytime by responding to this email or setting up a 20-minute connect time.