About Self-Acceptance

Self-acceptance means to have a loving relationship with ourselves in the present moment. It means releasing ourselves of judgment, and embracing all of who we are right now – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Self-acceptance is so inviting that we can easily rush the process. We embrace positive self-talk. “My financial situation is horrible, but I completely love and accept myself! Truly, I’m okay just the way I am, even though I know there are things I want to change about myself.” A few hundred affirmations later, we’ve sailed past self-acceptance, into denial and complacency.

We cannot accept within ourselves what we have not first examined and understood. We cannot simply gloss over the parts of ourselves that we are uncomfortable with, all in the name of self-acceptance. This includes both the gnarly, ugly bits of ourselves as well as the dazzling magnificence of our divinity. We must look both firmly in the eye if we are truly to move into self-acceptance. The question we must ask in order to examine ourselves without judgment is: “Is this working for me, or against me?”

True self-acceptance does not produce a dull, static “okay-ness” with ourselves. Self-acceptance is a powerful change agent that can catapult us forward on our journey of spiritual development. We can accept that our financial situation is dire. We can choose now to love and accept ourselves in spite of struggling to pay the bills. But to stop here would be to avoid examination. Can we also accept that our financial situation is not working for us? Can we accept how limited we feel, how far away from infinite abundance, and how this is affecting us in other life areas? Can we accept that we need to create something different? If we can reach that level of self-acceptance – to not only accept the circumstances, but how thoroughly they aren’t serving us – then we cannot stay where we are. The self-love that is invariably tied to self-acceptance demands positive change.

And what about accepting what is working well for us? What if we accept that we are tremendously fulfilled by a gift we have – a gift of creativity, a gift of logic or intelligence, or organizational skills. If we not only accept our gift, but also how completely and utterly that gift serves us, how can we not expand ourselves into the full magnificence of this gift?

We can accept our life circumstances, and stay in them. We can even accept who we are right now, and remain the same. But once we examine and accept that something is either working for us or against us, then change is inevitable. True self-acceptance is a catalyst for moving towards bold authenticity, and our highest path and purpose.

Blessings,
Andrea