As long as we live in comparison to some ideal, we will see ourselves as lacking and missing something. One of the most monumental paradigm shifts we can afford ourselves is to move away from the premise of what’s missing and into that of acceptance. A common misconception of this idea (from others who don’t understand it) is to accept ourselves as we are is to deny the reality of our problems. There is no doubt a shred of truth to this and some of us do have a tendency to live in denial.
But what I’m talking about here is so much more than that. This is why I consider it a paradigm shift. A massive, earth-shattering, toppling of everything as we know it. When we accept what is, our striving stops. Understanding that our ability to love and be loved is not contingent upon anything – literally anything else – this is a place from which real change can occur. A place from which we become the person we always knew we could be. A place where we see the best in others.