We’ve heard it said often, that love is an action. It’s something that must be put into practice each day; a decision, a commitment.
This doesn’t mean we’re always loving. Quite the opposite. There are many times when we don’t feel loving, or take for granted those we do love.
The same goes for patience. That, too, is an action. It is something we need to be mindful of and put into practice. It’s quite easy to lose our cool, to grow irritated and lash out.
This also applies to acceptance. The saying ‘accept the things you cannot change’ rings true, and people certainly fit into this category. We must put acceptance into practice, reminding ourselves regularly that we don’t have control over people and many other things in life.
Love, patience and acceptance. These are mindful acts that we need to consciously put into practice each day. We are not saints. We will be unloving, we will grow impatient; and we will try to fight, or change, the things we won’t accept.
But we have the option to stop in our tracks, stepping on the brakes on and shifting our perspective when we find ourselves veering off course.
We can remind ourselves how it feels to be loved, even when we don’t feel very lovable. We can remind ourselves how it feels when someone is patient with us, even when we have been exceedingly irritating or annoying. And we can remind ourselves how it feels to be accepted, for better or worse, in all of our flawed beauty.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, there is a little child within who needs love and acceptance.” – Louise Hay
