The Greatest Wisdom
by Nancy Pritchard, April 2009
© 2009, Nancy Pritchard, All Rights Reserved

"I never knew who I was until I began to love myself in this present moment."
                                                                                                     - Louise Hay

Those who spend time with young children realize that little ones can be extremely wise. I'll never forget the day back in 1993, when my two-year old son James explained to his grandmother what he wanted to be when he grew up.

"I want to be a people!" Little James happily declared.   

My family has chuckled good-naturedly about that comment made by an innocent child ever since. Lately, however, when I pause to reflect on the boy's comment, I perceive that my toddler was being downright insightful.

In his eyes, nothing about him needed fixing. Nothing needed to be changed or improved upon. James felt that he was perfectly complete just being 'people,' just being himself. No strings attached. How wonderful is that?

Unfortunately, once we reach the age of awareness, living in our society can cause a person to question his or her self worth. So often we measure ourselves by the expectations we allow to be thrust upon us, either by ourselves or by others. We can't turn on a television or open a magazine without being bombarded by myriad messages about how imperfect mainstream society believes we are.

Do any of these examples sound familiar?

"Are you ready for bikini season? Lose twenty pounds in one month with our new dietary supplement!"

"What will you do when the money runs out? Have you saved enough for retirement?"

"Come to the opening of our new plastic surgery center. Find out how you can look 15 years younger fast! "

"What the neighborhood you live in says about you!" 


What happens to our sense of worth when our identity gets too wrapped up in our physical appearance, or what sort of car we drive, or what neighborhood we live in, instead of the simple fact that we have intrinsic value as a human being?

When we measure our worth according to society's standards, our self-image can become quite distorted. I recently participated in a class where a small group of women were sharing their most crucial goals. One woman expressed that her one and only goal was to reach her ideal weight. It was obvious by the pained expression on her face that she was quite embarrassed about her weight, perhaps to the point of self loathing. Interestingly enough, before she shared her goal, the thing that I noticed about her was that she was a beautiful lady. Her hair, her makeup, her charming manner of speaking, created a truly lovely persona. If she hadn't mentioned weight as a concern, I don't even think I would have guessed that she had an issue with her weight. 

I often turn to Louise Hay to remind me that I am worthy simply because I am a child of The Universe. Louise is one of my favorite spiritual authors.

In the book You Can Heal Your Life, Ms. Hay explains, "I always tell clients that no matter what their problem seems to be, there is only one thing I ever work on with anyone, and that one thing is loving the self. Love is the miracle cure. Loving ourselves can work miracles in our lives."

"I am not talking about vanity arrogance or being stuck up, for those qualities are based on fear. I am talking about having a great respect for ourselves and gratitude for the miracle of our bodies and our minds."

When we let go of expectations, judgment and labels, we can begin to embrace the person we truly are.

Here are two self-acceptance exercises Louise Hay recommends:

1. Become aware of your self talk. Then, begin to talk to yourself as you would talk to a good friend. Say, for example, that you'd planned to work on a home project on Saturday afternoon. As it turned out, you were exhausted from a tough week at work and ended up taking a nap instead. What did you say to yourself? Probably something like, "Oh you're so lazy! You got nothing accomplished! You never finish a project on time!" But what would you say to a friend in the same predicament? "You needed the rest! You had a tough week. Give yourself a break!" Now try giving yourself a break and being kind to you.
   

© 2009, Nancy Pritchard, All Rights Reserved