Acceptance was a word that did not really appear in my vocabulary. It was a word that I had trouble with and where I quickly drew a dirty face. Until I was confronted with it during training that precisely that stopped me in my personal development.
It felt like a paradox because I always believed mainly in the makeable world and therefore in the man who can be made. With a focus on eternal work on development from there. What is not good enough can be improved and if you want to achieve something you have to take care of that. A mantra that is a bit too familiar in our society. It puts the focus on what you want to become and achieve and neglects who you really are and what you already have. With all the tension and restlessness as a result.
More balance and space for ‘being’ as opposed to ‘becoming’ gives rest and relaxation. Something that is much needed in a time of increasing stress, performance pressure and burnout.
Acceptance also means allowing the anger, grief and pain for what was and is and what you did not receive. Processing it, mourning it and giving it a place leads to new wisdom and meaning. Not necessarily easy and inevitable if you attach importance to personal growth and development: stop to move on. It continues to feel paradoxical.