When a mother and father become parents. There is an accepting love, a huge unconditional loving attitude toward their baby. Love is the quality and motivating factor shining  through the new parents as they care for the little one so helpless, hungry and needy. Watch the animal kingdom care for their babies; it is love in motion as they painstakingly keep the little offspring’s fed and as comfortable and safe as possible.

As we mature into adults we need to apply the same unconditional accepting love to ourselves — including our whole self, every part of us, the acceptable and the more challenging parts of our nature. For we are in relationship with ourselves all the time. Are we accepting our light as well as the weaker and still developing areas in us?

Two keys to what we may need to accept and enfold in loving kindness are number 1) What we may be avoiding; and 2) the qualities in other people we are not accepting, disliking or being stirred or upset by. There is no blame here. Yet, observing and noticing what we have energy about and what we might be avoiding or rejecting. Too, we may also admire qualities in others we ourselves want to develop and express harmonious with our own uniqueness. 

Suppose we have been avoiding meditation, some time taken for quiet and still moments, or to experience the more spiritual side of our nature. Being gentle with ourselves, we may ask ‘why am I putting this off or avoiding this?’ Then listen as well as being patient for the answer to come. Likewise, we may be avoiding a certain person, albeit, for good reason.

However it may be time well used in simply looking at the things we are avoiding by not being with the person. In cases such as that, the reasons can be numerous and healthy. A good practice is to bless the person as they are and feel kindly toward them, knowing we each are developing and evolving. Some of us seem more graceful at it than others no doubt. We can extend the gift of understanding and compassion when others fall short of wholeness. While, we extend understanding and compassion to ourselves as we humanly and spiritually strengthen, evolve and enlighten more and more. 

As the mother and father respect their little infant, we want to appreciate our growing nature. And, we will be happier and live in joy more and more as we accept the short-comings of other people and our own.

So, in looking at what we avoid, it is a practice of self-awareness and self-knowledge. Then deciding what we want to do with the awareness we receive from what we may be delaying or putting off. We cannot delay our spiritual expansion or another’s. There is something already inside us that knows we are being enlightened moment by moment, experience by experience, and with more and more awareness and clarity being revealed from within.

In closing, let us bless our feelings, thoughts and entire nature with loving acceptance and unconditional loving care. We are beloved and so precious, an important expression here and now. Feeling and filling with the Universal flow of endearment, we are right with ourselves, peaceful and extend the same to others, knowing similar love and well-being are flowing through all others and all of life now and on-going. We are grateful. And so it is, Amen. All is well.