Self-Acceptance

by Shriram
(Bangalore, India)

A man who was a diabetic attended the betrothal function of his friend. While food was being served at the buffet, he passed by the sweets displayed, just looking at them from the corner of his eyes. Suddenly a voice called out, "Sir! Sweets."

He thought, "What will my friends think of me if they get to know I am a diabetic?"

Unable to resist temptation, he relished every sweet his eyes could spot and his sugar-level began to rise over the days. Again he thought, "What will my kith and kin think of me when they get to know my health condition?"

He began to lead a normal life, but over the years his health condition worsened and people began to notice changes in his body. When they asked him what was wrong, he could neither reveal it to anybody nor hide it.

Self-Acceptance means understanding our limitations and living within the boundaries. We must always have short-term goals in life and strive towards them without expectations, and be willing to accept our mistakes and learn from them. When we are dealing with relationships, we must learn to look at people and their emotions as different entities. To accept people as they are we must accept ourselves as we are, for which we must understand our own thoughts and feelings. We must understand that each person is different, and that people and their emotions are dynamic. This can help us in controlling our emotions and stop expecting from others.