I Believe in Acceptance

I believe in the power of acceptance. Acceptance can be a million things to a million different people. Acceptance is approval, comfort, trust, humility and love. Acceptance is something that is essential to every human being. Not a single person in this world is exactly the same as anyone else and this fact is therefore why acceptance is key to making the world go round.

Upon first thought, acceptance seems like something that wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I’ve heard countless people make fun of others as entertainment rather than accepting someone for who they are and going with the flow. In my experience, it seems that the less you accept a person, the more time you waste and the more frustration you bring upon yourself. There is no changing a person and quite honestly, if you feel such a strong desire to change someone else, then you may need some work yourself. Accepting others for who they are is not always easy, but it makes for a more positive and productive environment.

One of the most influential people in my life who taught me the power of acceptance was my Nana. She was the kindest, most moderately tempered and most accepting person that I have ever met. Regardless of how emotional, hot-tempered, irrational or insane anyone in our family was acting, she just let them be who they were without spoken judgment. She may not have agreed with everything that people said, but she still allowed everyone to be himself or herself and not make anyone feel badly about being who they were. I remember a couple instances where my brother and I would be fighting over him playing too many video games and not interacting with the family as much as the family wanted. I would complain about it and Nana would just say, “Let him be him.” When I started accepting certain facets of my brother, things became a lot better with us.

I’ve always been my own person and my Nana was one of the very few people that I can remember really accepting me for me and not trying to change anything about me. She always made me feel comfortable and loved. I try my best to accept others for who they are and not place judgments. I never want to make anyone feel like they are less than adequate just for being themselves. People are born with inherent preferences, and there is nothing they or anyone else can do to change those innate properties. People can pretend to be someone or something that they aren’t but at the end of the day, that doesn’t really make anyone happy.

Regardless of whether someone holds different traditions, outlooks or beliefs than you, the best thing you can do is accept that person for who they are. Accepting someone is not always agreeing with them nor is it always telling them what you think they want to hear. Accepting someone is respecting their right to be themselves and allowing that person to be happy.