To love, accept and appreciate . . .

"One of the most satisfying experiences I know is just to fully appreciate

an individual in the same way I appreciate a sunset....I don't find myself

saying, "Soften the orange a little more on the right hand corner, and put a

bit more purple along the base, and use a little more pink in the cloud color,"

 . . . I don't try to control the sunset. I watch it in awe as it unfolds."

- Carl R Rogers

{A huge thank you to my kids for getting up extra early to allow me to witness this incredible sunrise}

 

It would be freeing wouldn't it, to just accept and be accepted for who we are.

To love and be loved unconditionally simply for no other reason than because we are human.

I mean, isn't that what we all strive for in this life anyway, above all else, to be loved?

And to belong? To not have to compromise our beliefs just to fit in?


I think when we allow for a mutual exchange of our experiences and knowledge and of how we

all see things, it will teach us respect, understanding and empathy towards each other.

It is, in these things that I believe we will find unity in our humanity, and love for our neighbor.

Because there is no hope for humanity without tolerance, no hope of love without first loving.

The intolerance I see growing simply breeds hate, hate destroys hope and without hope we become a world

full of despair and filled with fear. And fear is crippling. Maybe more like paralyzing  . . . going

neither forward nor backward.


And hasn't history shown us over and over again that action needs to accompany wisdom,

because without it, it serves no purpose at all. It serves no one, not even ourselves.

To be loved, accepted and appreciated, we first need to find a way to love, accept and appreciate those

around us where they are, and for who they are. Not for who we want them to be.


Every sunrise is different and unique and no two are ever the same. We don't expect them to be the same.

In fact it would be inconceivable to think we could change a sunrise. And why would we want to?

Yet we have all at one time, probably thought we could change someone else, maybe even the way they 

think. And who are we to think we should? I have seen a lot of sunrises and I admit there have been times

when I was disappointed because it wasn't what I thought it would be, or should be, or what I had hoped.

Because of my unrealistic expectations, I blinded myself to what was before me.  And I asked myself that

scary question, "How many times have I done that with others?"


Over the last 4 years I have had the opportunity to develop a bond with nature in a way that has taught me

many things. Nature's biggest secret . . . is her patience. She has a rhythm, nothing is rushed, and everything

has a purpose. So do we. So do the people that cross our paths, it is simply not our job to change them.

My wish is that we could learn to embrace and accept our differentness. And when we get past the

expectations, then we will begin to see and appreciate the incredible things about those around us unfold in

awe as well.


Because perhaps, just maybe, we are all different because we were not meant to be the same!


Love, Kim
XO


Sharing with Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Communal Global

Reflection . . . and the road to acceptance

Reflection; a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration
Acceptance; the act of taking or receiving something offered

It's New Years day, a new year and a new decade. With that, I'm sure many share in my reflection of time gone by. Unresolved resolutions or resolutions with really good intentions that were never started. But this year especially, it's not about things I haven't done or didn't finish. It's about a journey, a road traveled....and a destination. Just not one you'll find on a map.


A little over two years ago my husband accepted a job that meant a big move for our family. It was a necessary move as we had been out of work and although it was not out of state it may as well have been. It was away from where our children were born and everything that felt comfortable, everything that was home. The move was to be from the Dallas area to a small town about 25 miles north of Galveston Island and a very large body of water!



Things were preceding nicely. Our house sold the first day on the market and we were in the process of building a new one, and we had secured an apartment for the interim. But a new set of circumstances had reared its ugly head and we felt it was best to back out of the new home, which in turn created a new set of circumstances and more uncertainty. The day after we moved in a tropical storm came through and I fought back the tears as my son begged us to go back home. This place was now home. It's hard to be brave for your children when deep down inside you're falling apart. And then there was hurricane Ike, with a category 5 storm surge that resulted in the largest evacuation in the states history only 4 weeks after we moved in! So I moved to a place I didn't want to be to find myself and my family evacuating just weeks later with no more than a couple of suitcases and a box of our earthly possessions and important papers not knowing if that would be all we had left. It's an indescribable feeling to say the least. In the weeks that followed (and those prior) I was depressed. I didn't want to get dressed and I hardly ever left the apartment. My sweet husband would come home for lunch and take me for a drive just to get me out. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. It was getting close to the end of our 6 month lease and we decided to look for a house. That was definitely a turning point getting out of the apartment and back into a house and a neighborhood again. It also meant that our kids were changing schools yet once again. We were getting settled,  the kids were adjusting well and I was starting to meet a few friends and beginning to garden once again! But I was still less than happy about being here.

As time went on I continued going through the motions and my husband and I joined a couples bible study group. During one of our lessons, there was discussion on favorite places to be. One of the women told how her father in-law's favorite place to be was in acceptance. I thought to myself, wow acceptance would be such a great place to be since self-pity sucked. But it's not on map quest, so how to get there was the question. Well, what I learned is that there are no directions to acceptance and that the only way to get there is through faith. I was too busy being mad and feeling sorry for myself to see, really see where the road led. It's really hard at the time when everything feels so wrong to remember that there is a power greater than you making everything right. That the Lords plan is far greater than your own especially when it looks nothing like yours. For had we not moved here, to the Gulf Coast, I may not have discovered the photographer in me or my fascination for the beach and my love of the water. I believe that I have a purpose to share the glory of God and nature through photography and art with others.

In the last decade I have learned more about the things that matter and the things that don't and how easy it is to confuse the two. That being happy isn't about the perfections, but looking past the imperfections. I am just as grateful for my struggles as I am for my blessings. It seems that they are one in the same. And that as I come into a new year and decade that it's not about a new beginning but rather a continuation of a journey. . .to a place called acceptance.