I am reading Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With The Heart Of A Buddha by Tara Brach. Two quotes that she mentioned made me pause.
“Last night, as I was sleeping, I dreamt – marvelous error! – that I had a beehive here inside my heart. And the golden bees were making white combs and sweet honey from my old failures,” poet Antonio Machado, translated by Robert Bly.
And the second quote was from psychologist Carl Rogers, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”
Let’s unpack this. I love the image of bees making sweet honey from old failures. This is life! All those missteps lead to beautiful, delicious new chapters. If only we embrace them and wait for the bees of life to do that work.
And the second thought… when I accept myself as I am, I can change. This is so important. What are we saying to ourselves in our quiet moments? Are we saying that we are not good enough, that we can never succeed, that we are too big or too small or not smart enough or not confident enough? Would we talk to others that way? We must look in the mirror and say, “You are enough. Today is the day. Anything can happen. I am ready and equipped to take it on.”
If we realize we are incredible by changing nothing, we can change into what we are destined to be.
Let’s accept that curious paradox and wait for our hive of life to fill with honey.