image credit via Juan Manuel Cruz del Cueto on flickr
What Is Acceptance?
I found that through relating with others, that like most of the philosophy that I live under, that acceptance isn’t just about the belief itself. Like we may have come to know just because we believe in accepting others, doesn’t mean that we live what we believe. So taking this to heart and to really turn it into a practical skill in every day life takes some re-orchestrating of what it means to accept each other. One of the main things with acceptance first comes with accepting yourself.
Without completely accepting yourself you live in a filter that colors others with those delusions.
And they most certainly will manifest in others what you don’t like about yourself. I feel this is important to see because then we can start looking into what about ourselves that we are not particularly comfortable with facing. I will also reach into the great stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger for some inspiration in this area. One of my all time favorite quotes of this brilliant man is as follows
“…Why does not one admit his failings? Because he’s still deep in them. It’s the person who’s awakened who recounts his dream, And acknowledging one’s failings is a sign of health.” – Seneca
What he’s getting at above is that only until we see ourselves from moment to moment completely are we able to change those parts of us that are no longer working to our benefit.
On Accepting Yourself Completely.
So at a very practical level, you want to be able to dive even into the uncomfortable parts of yourself that make you completely who you are from moment to moment. By discovering this part of you and openly seeing that is part of you too. You now have that power to start to use emotional alchemy. That is, to change it in a way that will not only benefit you, but benefit your relationships with other people.
