Suncoast Hospice Director of Spiritual Care Jim Andrews
There is a delicate balance we need to strike between loving and embracing ourselves just as we are and our desire for continued growth and development. None of us are perfect – we all have opportunities for improvement. In clinical training for chaplaincy, we call them “growing edges.” But so often we experience that recognition of our need for growth through a critical inner voice that leaves us feeling like a hopeless case. American psychologist Carl Rogers, one of my favorites, shows us the way through this apparent contradiction. He writes, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” Our capacity for change emerges out of a foundation of self-acceptance.
May the fertile soil of healthy self-acceptance bring forth in all of us the growth we desire!
Have a great week, everyone!
Jim