Acceptance of others starts with acceptance of oneself…both our qualities and shadows. It is only when we can fully embrace both, within ourselves, that we can truly accept, and love, another.
Has it really taken me 52 years to learn this?! I think it has.
From a business perspective, I have always found it relatively easy to be authentic, embrace my shadows…I find it quite easy to know when others can do something better than me (that’s why they do it for a living); or know to apologise when I make a mistake (which is frequently); or recognise when I may be adopting a less than helpful stance in a situation.
Personally though, it has been more of a challenge to face up to my shadows, never mind embrace them! I have explored ‘The Dark Side of the Light Chasers’ (by Debbie Ford), tried on my shadows (on numerous occasions) and grown to accept they are a part of me…without them I wouldn’t be who I am today.
The whole really is greater than the sum of the parts…and in accepting that personally, I can fully accept and love myself…which has, in turn, freed me to fully accept and love others… warts ‘n’ all.