Acceptance

Do you accept yourself exactly as you are right now, flaws and all? If the answer is yes then let me know who you are as I could learn something from you!
I believe that acceptance is the key to a more peaceful 'flowing' life, yet I admit that sometimes I find it a hard thing to do. There's always something I am dissatisfied with- I want to get rid of this or that, and become 'better'.
Of course there is nothing wrong with striving to be a better person, but it doesn't have to mean rejecting parts of yourself that you're not too fond of. Because these are usually the parts that need love.
I know that probably sounds crazy. How can I possibly love the parts of myself that make me feel bad or make me feel less than who I'd like to be?
I've asked myself this same question and the only answer I could find was to give it a try. It's not always easy, but I am sure it is worth the effort. Because, I can still strive to be a better person without having to reject aspects of myself. Accepting and even loving parts we have often felt hatred towards does not mean that we will became complacent and develop an attitude that says: "since I am accepting myself, I am as I am and I'm not going to change." Oh no! We can change in a more peaceful, loving way.
Imagine all the negative energy being produced by hating and wishing away an aspect of our very selves. No matter what it is, no matter how painful it has been, if we learn to accept and love this shadow part, then we get closer to being able to heal it.
A shadow part of the self is often a troubled part of you that has been hurt or scared in some way and is now trying to protect you from anything similar happening. It has your best interests at heart. I guess it could be viewed as a loving friend who is trying to help but doing so in a flawed way. Hating that friend is not going to help her learn how to better help you, it is only going to make her feel more troubled- and this reflects back on you and how you feel- none of us like to hurt a friend! If we learn to love that friend, she will feel reassured and we can gently help her to change her ways- this allows us to go on learning, growing and becoming better people without such an internal struggle. We are constantly changing, so it makes sense to love all aspects of ourselves as we are every step of the journey. If we are always waiting to love ourselves when we 'get there' we'll end up spending all the time being unloving of ourselves- because ultimately there is no 'there' there is only 'here', and that is wherever we are right now.
I have an 'inner lion' who helped me realise this on a deeper, more personal level in a meditation. He represents my tendancy to strive for inner perfection- and he told me that in doing so, I was missing out on all the goodness I already have within. He told me I don't need to keep hunting for perfection, because this is focusing on lack- and so doesn't allow me to celebrate the goodness of myself- because I am focusing on trying to better the 'badness'. Therefore, I end up beating myself down when I could have been building myself up for what I have achieved.
Of course it didn't come as straightforwardly as all that. In my meditation, all was peaceful and calm. I was sharing reiki with a lion, sounds strange I know but he was a big cuddly softy at this point. But that was not to last... just as I am feeling really relaxed and peaceful, he says to me in a sinister, lion-growl: "Remember, I'm a hunter." At which point he leaps upon me and kills me. What a way to emphasize a point! Thankfully however, being 'killed' lasted only a second or two... and after 'coming back to life' I realised what he was using those big scary lashing paws to tell me- hunting for inner perfection was only killing the enjoyment of the things I had already achieved- essentially killing 'me' as I was at any given moment.
So, our shadow selves do have things to tell us, if we are willing to listen and explore. The best way to do so is to be open and loving and accept who we are, at the stage we are at, right now. Because although we can and most likely will grow better on our journeys, we might as well enjoy the scenery as we go along, rather than focusing on the destination and missing out on a whole lot on the way.
The best way to enjoy the journey I think is to be loving- not only towards others, but towards ourselves, and not only towards the parts of ourselves that we like, but to the parts that we don't like too!
Not always easy, but worthwhile. For as Eckhart Tolle in 'The Power of Now' says, "There is never a time when your life is not this moment." So, let's accept ourselves now, let's love ourselves and each other, now. For now is all we ever have.