We hear a lot about allowing people to be themselves, not hating them for what they are, or trying to change them (unless, of course, they're an ax murderer... but most aren't).
Sounds fair.
We've all been raised so differently, many coming from okay cultures who simply have different, perhaps difficult for us to understand, ways of living and looking at life.
With a few exceptions here and there (note ax murderer above), most of us manage to make this work.
One of the exceptions is what bothers me.
How come you (and I) can do all that for the good of everybody else (to the best of our abilities), and NOT do it for ourselves?
Shouldn't we forgive ourselves our sins... if sins they truly are? After all, many "sins" are not really sins at all, just someone's idea of "improper behavior"... whatever THAT is.
Shouldn't we accept ourselves the way we are?
Oh, we all could be "better" somehow... healthier, wiser, more forgiving, more understanding, etc.
There's an old saying (in different forms), "You can't dip water from an empty well."
Fill yourself up first with kindness, understanding, forgiveness, even acceptance. After all, there's a lot of people out there who haven't gotten the message yet, and you've got a lot of (rewarding) work to do.
Donovan Baldwin
how do i (decide) know when she/he is an ax murderer
or reputed to be such by someone who hates him?
"no i am not an ax murderer, but am i treated as one?"
All I know is you must first love yourself to be able to fully love others.