Can you think back and remember the very first time you heard the word ‘Embrace’? I honestly can’t remember the first time I heard it, but I can tell you, I had absolutely no clue what it meant. I had no idea what embracing truly is… until not too long ago. I kept hearing the term, but what was I supposed to do with it? I found a definition that helped me understanding what it meant to truly embrace… “To embrace something is to welcome it with open arms, hold, hug, accept completely”. With that said, let me ask you this, what do you currently embrace?
At the point where I started thinking about the word ‘embracing’, I figured that I wasn’t really completely embracing anything yet. Sure, I liked things, but wasn’t really embracing. I didn’t set much value to it.
To Embrace the Truth
Have you ever heard the statement ‘Embrace the truth…’? Now that’s a pretty hard one. Depending on what you’ve been through in life, oftentimes we refuse to embrace the truth. Because the truth can hurt sometimes. Maybe because we’ve been running and hiding from the truth. Perhaps because we’ve been afraid to embrace the truth. And maybe, because the only way we’ve survived was by not embracing the truth.
But surviving isn’t enough anymore… Now you want to live, and to live you have to embrace the truth. You see, you can run and hide from the truth, but only for so long. The truth will catch up with you no matter what. It’s time to look the truth straight in the eye, and no longer hide from it. As you do that, you’ll start to accept it, you’ll deal with it, and you’ll start to embrace it. Instead of being afraid of it, you’ll start being able to use it for good. EMBRACE THE TRUTH.
To Embrace Yourself
Next… Embrace yourself! You are so valuable. It’s funny how easy it seems sometimes to embrace others, but so many times we completely forget to embrace ourselves. Could it be because you’ve never really felt embraced by anybody else before? Could it be because you’ve felt like you failed, or felt worthless because other people in the past have made you feel that way? It’s time to switch that thinking, because that’s not the truth. The truth is you are worth more than any diamond in the world!
‘How do I embrace myself?’, you might ask… well, I’m glad you’re asking. First, before I give you some ways to embrace yourself, let me tell you what embracing yourself actually means. Embracing yourself means to completely and happily accept your uniqueness, your own identity. Just as you are, with all the beautiful flaws and imperfections.
Here are some ways to do it… Do not try to fit in. It’s about who you are now, and you are unique. There is no other you, therefore don’t try to be someone you never were meant to be.
Second, surround yourself with good, positive, supportive people. Many people don’t realize how important that is, but it really matters, and can be a huge life changing factor. Who are you allowing to influence you? When you’re getting ready to grow into yourself, it really helps having people around you that accept you and support you for who you are, without any judgement.
Another very important step to take is to forgive yourself for past actions. It’s time to let it go, and move forward from it. It’s time to practice self-compassion, and this is where you can do that. Nobody is perfect, and everyone has made mistakes, and that includes you. Accept it, forgive, learn from it, and then let it go. Don’t have expectations of yourself to be perfect, because you won’t meet it. It’s unrealistic, and it’s not fair to yourself.
Fourth, it’s time to really get to know yourself. Be honest with yourself. In order to fully stand up for yourself, you need to know yourself. And with that said, let me finish by saying this… No more living by other people’s opinions and values. Your value and character do not depend on other people’s opinions. People keep saying they want to be happy… but you won’t be truly happy until you start accepting yourself.
To Embrace the Present
Another important thing to embrace in life is current moments. To be in the present is so important. I struggled with that for such a long time. I had the tendency to either get lost in the past, or completely stress out about the future. When you get to be in the present, fully enjoy the moment, and embrace it. That’s when they become amazing memories. You start seeing them from a different point of view, and start being grateful for small things you’ve been taking for granted for so long for. It changes your entire attitude towards so many things in life, and even towards life itself.
When was the last time you’ve randomly grabbed a picnic blanked, and sat down in the grass by a lake, or a park, maybe with a pond, and just listened? Stop the stressful day, and just notice the things around you. Did you hear a bird? Did you notice a dog running around? Have you seen a chipmunk trying to steal some food from a goose? Did you notice those tiny little ducks running after their mom? There are so many things we’ve been overlooking and haven’t paid any attention to for a long time because we’ve worried and stressed about things in life we have no control over. Get in the present, fully enjoy and embrace it, and see what that does for you.
Here is an Action to Take
Have you ever written yourself a letter? I know it sounds weird at first if you’ve never done it, but it’s actually a pretty cool thing to do… When you do that, you have to be completely honest with yourself, and it opens your eyes to how you truly see yourself. I did it once I worked through a lot of the baggage with a professional therapist, and saw myself through completely different eyes than I did in the past.
Here is what happened… I decided to write me a letter coming from the grown, the now me, to the little me I was stuck in for so long. Through that, I was able to tell myself that I truly love myself, that I am no longer settling for less than I am worth. I was giving the little me wisdom I gathered by taking it one little baby step at a time. There was so much that was put down on paper… and I will re-read and re-open that letter when I am in doubt. I will take a look at it again when things might not look so great and shiny. Maybe when I am hurt, or feel like people are letting me down.
So if you feel like you’re ready, try that this week. Write yourself a letter. Share some of your current wisdom with yourself, that you wish someone would have shared with you as a teenager. And if you feel like you’re not ready, that’s okay too. If you start on it, and then stop, that’s completely okay. You might just write a sentence, and continue later on. You go at your pace, nobody else’s. Run your race, stay in your lane, and don’t worry about how others around you are doing, and handling it.
I think for this week, that’s enough… that is a lot to process, work through and think about. Keep in mind to go at your pace, and have a lot of grace on yourself! And we’ll go on next week 😊.
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