There was a gentle dusting of snow from our recent “snowstorm”.  The pathways were covered in white while the wintry plants held the frozen crystals like a mother holds her young child’s hand.  As I walked our outdoor labyrinth, my mind became clear and accepted this moment as a blessing in life.

Do our minds ever find complete acceptance?  I believe this happens for short periods of time, but extending acceptance for longer periods seems much more challenging.

Life brings us lessons as they are needed, in such unexpected ways.  I just recently had been practicing singing everyday for a concert that my husband and I did with a friend this past weekend. When I first started practicing a song where I was lead vocalist (my first time), I constantly wanted feedback.  “How does it sound”, “Should I change this part”, “Does my voice project enough”?  Then I noticed that in all of these questions, desires for feedback from others, and doubts of myself I was rejecting my own opinion and in essence, acceptance of my voice.  Ouch! That hurts! Luckily, I had an awareness of this after a period of time and began to allow my own knowing to take on the role of self-acceptance.  After noticing this in myself I had more clarity and recognition of my voice. The concert was wonderful, lots of wonderful singing and music from amazing musicians.

Acceptance is an awkward thing.  We may say that we are accepting life for what it is, but are we in actuality?  Or are we contradicting one thought with the next one, living in complete chaos within ourselves?  If we’re lucky enough to live from our heart, this task is much easier.  However, when we live from a place of responsibility to others, our community, it seems more complex.  In this scenario there seems to be more recognition of others and less comfort with ourselves.  Those sneaky words “competition” and “ego” come into play much more often when we’re around others more.  Am I off base here?  Maybe I am reading into this too much, but I don’t think so.  In some ways, it’s easier to be alone, but then we find ourselves lonely, so then the dilemma continues in another suffering direction.  So again, we are refusing ourselves of the simple pleasures of life, breathing in acceptance.

Just when you think you’re in acceptance, something happens to you and you catch yourself thinking “I should have done this instead of that”, “I wonder what s(he) thinks of me”, or something like this.  Self-consciousness sets in again and your own fears arise, the same fears you thought were gone.

Part of acceptance is understanding yourself as a human being.  We are a simple yet complex species.  We think we are so intelligent and yet our true knowing may rarely be highlighted because of our self-reservations.  But the reality of life is that there are many people in your life who love, support and accept you for who you are.  The question is, “Are you in a place where you can love, support and accept yourself for who you are”?

In Love,

Susie