{SPT} the me who accepts your invitation
Invitations I usually accept:
guilt, to be "the responsible one," to do a favor I don't have time for, the ringing of the phone (even if it is not a good time), to fix someone's problems, guilt, the words of my inner critic, to meet unreachable expectations, sadness, to hide who I truly am, to sit in the back of the room, to stop asking questions, to whisper instead of speak loudly, to be the good girl, to walk instead of dance, guilt, guilt, guilt...
But this month, another invitation has come my way.
The invitation to embrace and accept all of me.
I extend this invitation to others every time I teach yoga, yet I could not find a way to extend it to me.
And then this month, this invitation arrived in the guise of magical words , images, and art by amazing women and the brave creatures who posted SPTs.
Thank you. Please accept my RSVP. I will attend this acceptance of myself as I embrace all of who I am. The faults, the ugly bits, the beauty, the grace, the fears, the joys, and yes, even the feelings of guilt.
Check out other SPT all of me posts at Self Portrait Tuesday.
self-portrait
Reader Comments (16)
How brave you truly are. Your strength is far greater than you know, but is seen through your words on a daily basis. I am here, sending you lots of hugs and applauding your courage.
Love,
TD
What a touching post.....I am so happy you are embracing all of you.
i'm with you woman...I need a new mantra based on your post...out with guilt, in with acceptance. thank you for sharing.
very cool my friend. The guilt one, envelopes me too frequently...I need to learn acceptance and forgiveness.
It's good to be the responsible one others can rely on, but it's just as important to create space for yourself. Each of us must decide for ourselves how much space that needs to be, and then defend it, and if that means not picking up the phone, so be it. The beauty of caller ID! And yoga, how perfect is that? But maybe as an instructor you can't be there just for you, so you don't experience the me-time the way your students do. So you need to get that time in other ways. You deserve it!
This is wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing:)
What a beautiful way to frame this SPT.
(P.S. I HATE answering the phone, but always do even when the time isn't right...just because I don't want the guilt of having to call back hanging over my head...ha!)
You are growing in ways that are announcing themselves daily. :) Wonderful photograph and inspiring post! I love your embracing yourself. Now I will....(((Liz)))
i love how you looked at this
and presented it in this way
:)
You are a generous spirit and a community builder. Thank you for including me here today. I feel accepted and connected and that means a great deal to me.
Thank you for extending and continuing the invitation of acceptance and for making it clear that we're together as we figure out how to love ourselves for ourselves and on our own.
Namaste.
this was so moving, so raw and beautiful.
i just love the word "embrace".
rsvp accepted.
you are so lovely...i want to give you a big, warm squeeze!!
xoxo
Oh girl, I need to accept that invitation as well. Yesterday as I did my last SPT I realized I hadn't really opened up all that much. I didn't allow myself to be judged because I am harsh enough on myself. I admire you for putting yourself out there and I wish I could do the same. Hugs!
I echo Jamie--you have created a lovely community here!
Thank you for sharing your feelings about this process and your growth. I applaud your courage and insight as you embrace who you are! Truly, if we were all as good to ourselves as we often are to others, the world would probably be a much happier place.
oh liz this brought tears to my eyes. i can't not even tell you how it made me feel to be lovingly placed in the same category as these fabulous women. it made me proud to belong to such an amazing and powerful sisterhood. i am proud to be a woman...ugly bits and all...and i'm so glad to share this journey of life with other like minded soulsisters. you are so dear to my heart!
this month of SPTs was difficult for me. not only because i had a hard time with my ugly bits, but because it was tough to witness others' struggles with their own so-called ugly bits. it saddens me that so many of us have such trouble embracing and accepting ourselves.
thank you for sharing yourself and your journey and inspiring me to be more aware of which invitations i accept!
Your post truly touched me. I usually...scratch that...always accept those same invitations. I had planned on joining the SPT last month, but when I saw the theme it made me shudder. I'm already hard enough on myself and I just couldn't bring myself to open up to the world in that way and let everyone see me the way I see myself...it was just too much. You are so courageous to do this and I admire you so much for it! Bravo!!!