Is
that congruent with the deep acceptance which brings us peace?
There is a polarity we live within each day of our journey to
be free, to be whole: the polarity of striving to be who I am.
I wonder, can the striving become surrendering to who I am in
this very moment. Each of us is on a long journey, seeking to
know God, to know our self, to be free. Freedom requires an awakening
, a knowing that, I am here to be me. In that moment of total
surrender, we allow the spaciousness of being ourselves, not needing
to be more, not pretending we are less. After year upon year of
resisting simple truth, the grace of enlightenment comes to take
the place of inner struggle.
We do not become enlightened by trying to be like someone else.
We do not become enlightened through eliminating our every fault,
nor by becoming an image of perfection. We come to know the state
of inner peace through a deep acceptance of our whole self --
seeing our true nature, our gifts and our faults, all without
veils of illusion. Seeing with the eyes of truth, and surrendering
to that truth contains the seeds of tremendous power in creating
a new reality for ourselves.
This
new dream which is accessible to every human, is based on self
respect and unconditional love for ourselves and all living beings.
We can rest in that state, in a moment or a in a lifetime, according
to our ability to choose self acceptance over self judgment, making
our life choices out of love and respect for ourselves, rather
than out of fear, guilt, obligation, criticism, or proving we
are good enough. Good enough for whom? For ourselves, for the
creator, or to suit the opinions of others? When we allow the
seeds of opinions to guide our moment by moment life choices,
we feel that we are living in a box. Choosing what brings us peace,
what is aligned with self respect, what makes our heart sing--these
choices create an inner feeling of freedom.
The
path to freedom is a path of profound acceptance - acceptance
of what is and who I am, acceptance of our personal destiny and
the timing life is given in; acceptance that I could give up the
fight against my true nature - I could release the need to be
like someone else - I could release the judge who says, be more
or be less. How often have we felt the wish to be different than
we are, feeling that we need to be less noisy, less boisterous,
less needy, less demanding, less trouble, less fat, less selfish,
less wounded... Or have you struggled to be more perfect, more
spiritual, more giving, more tolerant, more beautiful, more ?
The truth is your only need from inside yourself is to be you.
In those moments of self- judgment it is useful to be with the
questions: "What is True?" "What do I feel?" "What do I Need?"
"What brings me Peace?" Allowing these questions to guide your
day can bring a level of transformation you can barely fathom!
Out of the practice of deep acceptance emerges a magnificent quality
of life... a life in which union with all living beings is a reality
in every moment. All possibilities are available for us to partake
in, but it is necessary to gather our personal energy to the point
that we can directly experience the choice available to us. In
every moment there is the experience of separation and of union
standing before us - both are true, both are absolutely real...
it is a choice whether we focus our awareness on one or the other.
Our life is full of such paradoxes. The ability to have that choice
comes through the process of surrendering to deeper and deeper
levels of acceptance. For that choice and the blessed people who
have come into my life at the right time to nudge me, my heart
is grateful beyond words. I now invite you to join with me in
an awesome journey of acceptance, a journey into who you truly
are. Life is what happens while you're waiting for perfection
to come along... will you enjoy it or miss it?
