Accept Yourself!

This week I was honored to preside at a memorial for a man who'd been married 73 years! I had presided at his wife's memorial 9 months ago, and heard since that time, he wanted to be with her.

73 years. That's hard to comprehend. That's my life plus 9 years!

For quite a few years I've been collecting short 'secrets for long lasting relationships' from people I've met who've been married for a long time.

All of them had to do with acceptance of each other. Encouraging mutual growth, but letting the other be who they were, and do their growth on their own time.

During the holidays, we experience family dynamics to a deeper degree. Sometimes we wonder "Who are these people?" Most of our challenges with them are because we expect them to be someone different. We do this with ourselves as well. We expect ourselves to be different - either because of comparisons, or because of what or who we 'think' we should be by this time of our lives.

One way to move beyond that is to love yourself, accepting yourself just the way you are. It doesn't mean that you don't want to expand and be an even better you, it just means that you no longer judge who you are now. The amazing thing is, the more you accept yourself, the less it matters what others have or have not done.

Not all of us have time for 73 years with the people we love ... however we do have the time to accept people just as they are. Let's do that for the holidays. Give the gift of accepting everyone, including yourself, just the way we are, with Love.

Affirmative Prayer

The Truth of us is that we are all expressions of the One. That Presence is absolutely everywhere. It is in all things, surrounding all things. This Presence is the energy of Love - a Love that is unconditional. It accepts Itself, just as It is, as It is expressing in all forms.

I now declare I am ready to accept myself and all others just as we are right now. I know there is a greater potential within us, and I accept that we are expanding to include that, yet I place no judgments on where we are now, except that we are right where we are supposed to be. How could it be any other way? How could The Divine be some place It's not supposed to be, being all that there is?

I now open my heart and mind to be the one who Loves without conditions or expectations. I am so grateful to be able to Love as God Loves.

I release these words, knowing they are Truth, and the Truth has set us free. And so it is.