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I believe
the greatest value one can have is ACCEPTANCE.
From that, evolve love, joy, peace, caring, giving and
tolerance. The attribute of acceptance unifies and
bonds us with our fellow human beings.
This
sense of unity and cohesiveness has been something that
has eluded me most of my life. As a very young
child, I felt different. Maybe we all sense our
own separateness from each other, yet mine felt as if I
was set apart, isolated from my playmates, and that
feeling continued on into adolescence and
adulthood. As a young child I was extraordinarily
contemplative; I was curious about everything,
questioning the whys and wherefores of how we got
here, why we act the way we do, and what purpose all
this nonsense serves. I was enraptured by all of
nature: the sky, the heavens, the birds and tiny
creatures. While the other kids played games, I
would sit and observe the wonders that surrounded the
playground; it was all so fascinating to me. Yes,
indeed, I felt a Divine power had touched my soul at a
very early age, something I was powerless to do anything
about; it was my fate--it was to take hold of me and
never let me go.
But
this "difference" often made me unaccepted by
others. I was often too serious--if I had a nickel
for every time a person told me to
"lighten-up," I would likely be a millionaire
by now. But I could never understand or accept their
frivolity; how they could make light and trivialize the
importance of everything?
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I loved to think,
ponder, explore, imagine, create, dream, and the only
things I thought seemed to concern my little playmates
was whose turn it was, who’s got the ball, who stole
my toy. And for me the game just seemed silly. . .
I thought there was SO MUCH more to learn, discover and
figure out.
Yet,
at the same time, I so desperately wanted to
belong. Later, I would often force myself and try
to fit into what the others were doing. Yet the
more I tried, the more uncomfortable I was, and it never
helped me to become one of them anyway. The kids
still saw me as an outsider, something different,
weird. And this led to a life-long battle with
depression and then later swings of mania in my early
twenties. Some may call it my chemistry, but
I’ve later proved to be able to manage all this
without the use of drugs; a fact that I attribute to my
Divine Source within as well.
But
for me to accept anyone, I had to first accept and love
myself-- for all that I was. That my heightened
sensitivities were a part of my God-endowed make-up,
that I was NOT SUPPOSED to BE LIKE those others, and
ACCEPT that my unique qualities were given me for a
purpose—often I still wonder just what that is, but I
know they have served me well. Thanks to great teachers
like M. Scott Peck with his wonderful series of books,
such as The Road Less Traveled, and another great
find, The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron,
I have come to accept, appreciate and love the person I
am and God made me.
This
nature makes me a highly conscientious person; I often
take into account how the other is feeling, as well as
myself, sometimes to the point of
self-consciousness--sometimes to the point of not
looking after my own interests or safety. I long
to do what is right, just, fair and loving, though I
often fail at the task, for I am only human. I do
get tired, weak, or moody, yet I feel compelled to
exhibit the God-like qualities of my all-loving
Creator. So I study and learn about pure love, not
pure truth. . . because I believe we must all find our
own unique truth. And one thing I’ve learned in my
studies on pure love, is that one must learn to ACCEPT
and appreciate others for the very unique, different,
special people they are! That each one of us
brings to this earth something extraordinary, no matter
what station in life we came from.
Some of us have come
through individual hardships that make us rich,
developed, and glorious pieces of God’s
handiwork. Each one of us holds a piece of the
Divine inside us, and when we exercise tolerance, and
ACCEPT others, even in their times of weakness, we then
are making the world a more Divine and loving place for
us all. . . and in turn come closer to pure joy, pure
peace. . . PURE LOVE!!
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