For a while now I’ve tried to think of something I could post on FB on a (fairly) regular basis – today I came up with an idea. Each week I’m going to put up a word along with my (simple) definition of it. In the comments I’ll put in a couple of reflective thoughts.
It seemed appropriate to start the year with an “A” word – acceptance. Acceptance shows up a ton in psychology (for a deeper dive look up Elizabeth Kubler Ross or David Kessler’s work on the stages of grief, or the DBT principle of Radical Acceptance or even Carl Roger’s work on Unconditional Positive Regard). I think Michael J. Fox has the right idea when he says “Acceptance is the key to everything.”
Christianity of course holds acceptance as a cornerstone. If you’ve never seen the painting Return of the Prodigal by Rembrant reading about it would be a wise use of your time! There are also many verses that talk about being non-judgmental (John 3-16-17 come to mind)- the Bible encouraging us to focus rather on empathy and humility.
With this in mind, I’ll leave you with a reflection question to ponder this week: What judgements are you carrying – toward yourself and others – that you could set down?
I’d love to hear your thoughts…