SELF-ACCEPTANCE
“Maya is a very complicated thing, and it is maya that prevents evolution. Whether you can accept yourself or whether you feel you have to do certain things in order to survive in the world – these are two quite different ways of thinking. Sit down and think them over. Find out where you are. Do it again six months from now, and next year. Find out again and again how much your thinking has advanced, how much stronger and more courageous you have become about accepting where you are, what you are.”
As I cleared the dinner dishes from the outside patio to the kitchen this evening, I was greeted by the pungent smell of fresh rosemary that I pruned from my herb garden late this afternoon. Having just returned from three weeks away, I’m grateful that our container garden (thanks to irrigation) survived the two plus weeks’ heat wave in B.C. As I drove to the pool today I noted the yellowed leaves falling from boulevard trees, and the bone dry grasses that lent an autumnal note to my first morning back home.
Grateful that we live in a condo and that our planters are well-irrigated, (I must confess that we never adhered to Vancouver’s water restrictions while living in our single family residence) I noted a lack of colour and lustre . As it happens, we had no grass on our former property, so, but for a suspiciously green boulevard that nobody commented on, we were able, during the occasional heat wave, to enjoy the shade of trees that had been planted some twenty plus years prior. No longer a rare occurrence, a series of hot, dry summers have seen forest fires raging across British Columbia from June to October. So far that is not the case in 2024, but the summer is still young.
I am not.
This fact occurs to me as I try to stay awake until after 8 p.m., notably because I’m far from finishing today’s blog. Which is why self-acceptance comes to mind. One of the hardest things to accept is how a mere five and a half hour plane flight and three hours’ time change wreaks havoc on mind and body. I woke this morning disoriented and unmotivated, stuffy-nosed and sneezy. As is my habit, I began with my spiritual practices — mantra chanting, journaling and any inspirational readings that seemed relevant to how I was feeling.
I gravitated to Martha Beck’s blog on the “Best Strategy for Self Motivation”:
“Martha began by advising her new client to get in touch with her gut—literally—by breathing deeply and focusing on physical sensations. “If you pay attention to your body, you will feel physically pulled toward what’s right for you,” she said. “What would make you feel joyful and relaxed?””
This is not too different from what a favorite yoga instructor asks her students during quiet intervals: “What do you sense? What do you feel?”
All of these ideas lean to an acceptance of ‘what is’, in contrast to the tendency to compare and compete with a younger version of me. My decision to head to the pool, despite feeling sluggish, was motivated by knowing what brings me both relaxation and joy. One might not think plunging into a chilly ocean for half an hour or so would be relaxing, but it always clears the cobwebs and leaves me feeling invigorated and alive. Quite the contrast to how I woke up! The relaxation comes during coffee with fellow swimmers and friends, and joy comes from having transcended my inclination to stay in bed. Which is where I am now headed.
Sweet dreams everybody. 😇😴🧚🏼♀️