ACCEPTANCE IS ALL THERE IS!
By: Quillan Windtalker
Many of us are aware of the changes happening around us and within us, changes that are described as deviance by some and unacceptable diseases by others. These changes include a rise in homosexuality and a rise in the acceptance of it, people going back to the old religions to find peace, and a rise in a state of anomie; where the old ways of life simply no longer work. The crisis isn’t merely on accepting these changes; since these changes also involve our inners selves, it is also a matter of accepting ourselves.
Self acceptance means many things to many people, but all agree on the fact that it’s not an easy thing to do. Through my classes, I asked many of my students what it means to accept yourself? Many of them stated that self acceptance means to take everything you find not appropriate in yourself and hide it (repress it) in the deepest parts of your body. If you think so too, allow me to be the first to tell you that you are asking for a lifetime of illness and sadness. The problem many people face when it comes to acceptance is that we’re constantly thinking about what others think of us instead of thinking about ourselves. While some of you will interpret this to being selfish, I assure you it’s not. It’s a very nice idea to think about others and to help them out when you can, but it’s an even more important thing to care about “you” and help yourself first. If you’re not happy and peaceful, how can you make others feel happy and peaceful?
We need to come to terms with our differences and our quote on quote “abnormalities”. The Earth right now is entering a very strange transition period, and these changes are also happening with Mother Nature and Father Time. Many people re beginning to understand the basic secrets of life and Magick, and many are beginning to recall their past lives. These changes are for the better, but enough about spirituality and more into materialistic life.
Many people have bravely crossed the line of what is OKAY in our culture and have come out of the closet, and that’s a lovely and wonderful thing. Congrats to you if you’re one of them. But many others are still afraid, or even worse, in denial of their orientation. Many think that if I don’t think about it, it will soon dissolve and go away. Others think that, well if I force my self to enjoy heterosexuality then my homosexual feelings will disappear. They are repressing their feelings and emotions out of fear when in reality there is nothing to be afraid of. I know many friends who got married and had kids, and ended up getting divorced because they weren’t comfortable with the idea of being with a female partner. Another friend of mine represses his gayness and says it’s because he’s Muslim. Now I truly respect all religions, and I believe that God loves all his creatures, including YOU and me.
So accepting means to know yourself and feel good about it, so what good does that do? Well for starters you will feel comfortable in your own skin and you’ll stop saying: “oh I wish I had his life, he seems much happier and normal” and you’ll start saying: “I’m so happy about my life and who I am”. But acceptance is only half the journey, you also need to process those feelings too. To do that is to live out your life and not care about what others will think, or about who will say what, or how they will criticize you. This is the golden formula: if it makes you feel good and doesn’t harm anyone, do it!
What I’m trying to say is drop the things that are keeping you down and do the things that make you feel good. If you suppress these feelings they will end up hurting and haunting you, and believe me they will. It’s a known fact, and many of you have experienced it, “what you resist will persist”. If you keep hiding and suppressing or doubting what’s in your heart, your problems will only get bigger and bigger.
Try this on for size. Grab a piece of paper and write down the things you’d like to do, the things that make you feel good. They can be as simple as joining a dance class or as controversial as coming out to a close friend or getting a new piercing. Now take each one of these and write down the pros and cons of doing them. Weigh them out, if the pros are more that the cons then consider doing that thing. If the cons are more, wait a while and then redo the pros and cons list. You will notice how the cons will eventually decrease. Father time is taking things into his own hands and is changing the world around us. Change was never easy and it will never be. People don’t like change because it involves having to do some work. Well my friends, the world won’t do your work for you so I suggest you do for yourself. It’s normal to feel weird or some pain in the beginning but remember it’s a transition, and what comes out after that is tremendously worth it.