Accept Yourself

This is where we have to start. We've falsely learned over time that love is conditional. If we perform a certain way, if we make others happy with us, then we will be accepted. We look to our parents, our teachers, our friends, our bosses, our spouses to define what it will take for belonging and acceptance or we rebel against it, but neither brings healing. We are still basing our actions on someone else's standards ( an ever moving target) or dismissing them at the cost of our own happiness simply because they were forced upon us. We have to learn to make our choices from a place of love and not fear.

You are where you are. Shame and fear will not help you cultivate change. Your worth isn't hinged on the job you have or what you weigh or your marital status. You are worthy because woven into your very DNA is a strand of the Divine placed in you by the one who created you. Like a guitar string it reverberates the truth. It comes alive when we act in accordance with love and respect for ourselves and others. Your purpose isn't to make everyone pleased with you, it's to discover the gifts, talents, and abilities that are braided around that strand and use them to reflect the one that put them there, serving the world and enjoying who you are fully. Our joy is synonymous with our purpose. We are so complex that we will never reach the end of our talents or abilities and age doesn't alter our worth. In fact, a life spent mastering our talents makes us more valuable not less. 

So, today, accept who you are and where you are this moment. Evaluate what needs to change but don't accept shame. Get excited to discover more about yourself each day. Create opportunities to try new things uncovering what brings you joy and serves the world. Cast aside appearances and embrace growth. Care for yourself mind, body, and spirit, acknowledging that if something is out of balance it indicates a lack of wellness as a whole. Decide that, for you, love will not be the condition for change, it will be the starting point. Accept yourself.