DeborahBurkeHenderson.com

APRIL 2026 – BE ACCEPTING

How many times a day do you self-criticize? I wonder. So often, we judge ourselves, condemn our flaws and inadequacies, obsess over a mistake, misdeed, or lack of action. Welcome to the human condition.

Be aware of those thoughts, habits, and behaviors that bother you. Step back for a moment and find within the permission to accept yourself exactly as you are, right now. Meditation can help develop this skill of equanimity. Ground yourself. Let root tendrils from your soles dig deep into the floor, into the earth. Stay in the moment. Breathe in peace; breathe out calm. Realize that you are enough, just the way you are. Doing so will bring a new sense of contentment—an unfolding, allowing for openness. Stress will be minimized. Importantly, this perspective will also help change how you look at and accept others.

In the words of Sri Ravi Shankar, “Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you. That is your true home.”

Strive to adopt an attitude of easygoingness. All feelings, all thoughts are welcome here. This is where we begin. Be patient with yourself. Awareness is the first step. Acceptance is the second. Let everything just be. Our habits are tough to break but our accepting awareness is where the healing begins. Offer yourself lovingkindness and repeat these steps every time a strong judgment, repetitive criticism, or widespread uneasiness crops up. Every time. Learn to reframe your thoughts from having a negative spin to creating a positive one. Move from “I can’t do this.” to “I can do this. I just need to be patient with myself and practice.”

American psychologist William James said, “The greatest weapon against negativity is our ability to choose one thought over another.”

Lasting improvement comes from a baseline of acceptance. Every time we become aware of a pattern of reactivity or self-judgment, the pattern softens a little. Over time, we become less reactive, less judgmental. What we tell ourselves determines who we are, who we become.

Believe in yourself. Believe in your own innate goodness.

As you go about your day, offer metta—lovingkindness—to each being you meet, each rock, each budding tree. We are all one. We are all connected, and we must all follow that spark within which burns more brightly with each recognition of all that we are.

Blessings to you and yours,

Deborah

     ________________________

“The root of true confidence comes from our ability

to be in unconditional friendship with ourselves.”

– Pema Chödrön

My morning mantra:

"I arise this morning with a smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. 

I vow to live fully in each moment and to greet every being I meet with compassion."

        ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist 

                                                                                    [1926 - 2022]