Is this a picture of a girl in fear, holding her self to make herself small and hiding from the world?
This post is continued from this morning's challenge: Waking Up In Shame, Embracing Self
https://steemit.com/life/@kimzilla/waking-up-in-shame-embracing-self
Actually, it comes from the concept of ‘embracing self’, where I really have no foundation of experience of what it might be like to fully embrace myself unconditionally, as I am right now. I decided to try it out; at first lying down with my arms around me.
But that didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel ‘enough’.
The only thing that really fulfilled me in terms of how I wanted to embrace myself was to be in the full fetal position. This type of unconditional embrace is what I carried with me toady.
In the morning, at the doctor’s office where I sat full of fear that I would be diagnosed with some terrible disease, I found it difficult to embrace myself. The fear made me feel prickly and I couldn’t get that comforted feeling. I realized that I had to let go of trying to control my feeling, my environment, the play-out of events. The way I manage to live ‘embracing self’ was
telling myself that I would be there for me no matter what the outcome, that I could handle it, I would not fall apart, I would not give up, but I will stand no matter what.
It was within these words that I managed to find my embrace.
I am flawed, yes, but I am worthy of my own unconditional love, acceptance and support. But I do in fact have to stand, or else it becomes manipulation, wherein I would use the excuse that I will embrace myself unconditionally no matter what, and so then stop trying, stop pushing for my self change and betterment, becoming stagnant and start to turn inward again.
That is not acceptable. The unconditional embrace must come with unconditional self-forgiveness and the willingness, dedication and commitment to change. That is how we can achieve the unconditional self-embrace!