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We are offering you a question today to set you up for the month to come with Bite-Sized invitations towards transformation. Acceptance is our theme for April. (Remember to scroll all the way to the bottom of this post to find the link to the Super Secret part relating to this topic.)

As with all our inner work, remember to be gentle and patient with yourself as you ponder these thoughts. If you want to print out the image, get a screenshot if you are on a device, or right click and copy then paste into a word document.

Or you could write it in your journal and free-write on what comes up for you when you ask yourself, “What energy do I want to bring into my life in the coming year?“. And don’t worry if your answers are different each time you ask … I ask myself the same questions over and over, and each time, something different falls onto the page!

Accepting Life Exactly As It Is

Accepting life exactly as it is means cultivating an impeccable internal attitude which is based in trust.

Richard Rudd says that “Acceptance carries the seed of love.”

If I am in absolute acceptance of what is, then there is simply no space for poverty consciousness, for a sense of lack, for any lack of self-belief.

The more I open my heart, the less constricted I am by fear.

Accepting life as it is means accepting ALL of it … fear, struggle, death.

If I accept myself then I am not afraid to step out in boldness.

If I accept myself then it doesn’t matter what other people think of me.

If I accept myself then I am able to love myself.

Acceptance allows me the grace to rest. Acceptance knows my limits; it knows that I cannot be all go go go. It knows my body is older and needs time to rest between activities.

Acceptance knows that I need the stillness of my morning journaling to allow the breakthroughs to come and the contemplations to settle.

Acceptance knows I need to rest.

Acceptance is a deep sigh.

Acceptance is soft and gentle stillness.

Acceptance is what brings the balance.

Acceptance is deeply feminine.

And the feminine comes first. She sets the rhythm for the dance of life.

Acceptance knows the energy that is available, it knows how to balance the movement of the steps with the gentle stillness of the internal being. She sways and glides, she intuitively knows where I should step next.

Some journaling or contemplation prompts to ponder this month:

Hey! Lizzie here! Acceptance is deeply important to me. I have contemplated acceptance for a long time. I have written page upon page (upon page!) in my journal about acceptance. It is not just important to me because it is one of my Gene Keys Gifts, I believe it is a fundamental pillar of doing the inner work, whether you are into the Gene Keys or not. If we cannot come to accept ourselves, then we cannot possibly access all of the wisdom we hold inside ourselves.

So, for this month’s prompts, in Layer 3, I share some of the things that have come up for me, as I have contemplated these questions in the pages of my journal. I hope they will inspire you to want to answer these questions yourself!

Prompt 1
Where are you looking for acceptance in the external world in order to feel empowered?

Prompt 2
How would acceptance of life as it is lead you to more love?

Prompt 3
What would your everyday life look like, if you were to believe that you were worthy of love and worthy of acceptance in every moment?

Prompt 4
Part of Acceptance is accepting that life includes suffering. Are you able to accept the suffering in your life?

Lizzie’s answer to Prompt 1 …

I should tell you that I used to do this all the time! There is a lot in my Gene Keys profile that seeks external acceptance and validation, and I have used that need for external approval to keep myself small.

For a long time, I could only feel good about myself, if someone else told me I was good.

I sought those gold stars from others because I didn’t feel I deserved them. They were proof; proof I was good enough; proof that I counted; proof that I existed.

I don’t do that nearly so much any more.

I am coming to believe in my own worth and my own power.

I am taking my power back.

I can no longer look outwards for acceptance, if I do not first find it and embrace it and nurture it for myself. I have to accept myself, all of myself, before I can move my attention out into the world. Because truly, this energy of acceptance is exactly what I want to see more of.

We all have flaws, but we are all perfectly imperfect. Accepting ourselves exactly as we are opens the door to loving ourselves. Accepting and loving ourselves opens the possibility of accepting and loving others, even if they are different from us. But it all starts with ourselves.

Lizzie’s answer to Prompt 2 …

I know that love is the antidote to fear. I know that in my bones. So, more love equals less fear. More love would mean less anxiety, less stress over the small stuff I can’t change, more acceptance of what IS. So, I get to be less judgmental of other people. I get to have compassion. And if I am met with non-love? Well, I get to just pour even more love on them.

But people must first accept themselves. That is the key. It is impossible to build a culture of acceptance of others without each individual first building their own loving self-acceptance. That’s what we each must model. Not telling people they must accept others but showing people how glorious it is to accept ourselves, and how glorious it will be for them to accept themselves.

Lizzie’s answer to Prompt 3 …

For me, it would mean truly living well. I would let more love into my heart. And the more love I let into my heart, the more love I could give. The more love I give, the more love would come pouring back in. There would be so much love that fear and anger and bitterness wouldn’t take up the space they used to. There would be so much love that forgiveness would come easily, letting go of past hurts would be easier, and replacing bitterness with compassion would become possible.

There would be laughter every day. There would be laughter even in the midst of tears.

There would be so much creativity in my life. I always wanted to create beautiful things with my hands, and here I am creating books and prints, photographs, a home, a garden … a beautiful, handmade life that fits me so well.

I would continue to spend time on the inner work every day. Is there a more worthwhile way to spend my time than in deep connection with myself? I would build this great reservoir of light inside myself, a cauldron that is all love and trust and safety.

This is acceptance of my own worth is living well; this knowing that I have so much love inside me, that I can trust myself and Life, that I am safe here, right where I am. This is living well, this deep fulfilment that comes with knowing myself and loving myself.

I live my life well. I would not want to swap my life for anyone else’s. I have everything I used to dream of having. I am living my own wildest dreams.

Lizzie’s answer to Prompt 4 …

Suffering is simply a part of life as a human. Learning to accept life as it is, with all the suffering, (and all the joy), takes away the fear. For often, it is the fear of suffering that is the hard part, not the suffering itself. If I am honest with myself, I know that I am not going to die because of the suffering; I’m not going to die because of the fear either. I can allow the suffering and the fear to be there, and I can wrap them in love. I can breathe and open up the vast space in my heart where it is safe, where I am safe, where I am steady.

Acceptance. I feel as if my whole life has been leading me to this point of complete acceptance. Acceptance has been the missing piece. And it’s been in me all along! The seed of Acceptance has been in that Shadow of Constriction that has been so tightly wound around me my whole life.

I don’t need anything external to “fix” me.

I don’t need fixing.

I can bring healing to my own hurts.

I can bring the love and safety and acceptance I have been craving.

Me. The answers are all in me.

My whole life I’ve been seeking this acceptance, and it’s right here, in my own heart.

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Some Quotes to Inspire You

Acceptance becomes a calm optimism that acknowledges what is occurring while simultaneously breathing more loving awareness into the moment.
Richard Rudd, Gene Key 25

By accepting and learning to embrace the inevitable sorrows of life, we realize that we can experience a more enduring sense of happiness.
Sharon Salzberg

In a world that rewards doing, producing, and proving, it’s easy to forget: your presence is enough. Not your performance. Not your perfected and polished version. Not the endless tasks you complete or the roles you fill. Just you being here, breathing, showing up in your truth - that's enough.
When the voice of self-doubt or pressure rises, pause and return to this truth: I am enough just as I am. You don’t have to earn your worth through effort. You don’t need to prove your value through perfection. You don't have to people-please your way to acceptance. You are not here to be everything. You are here to be fully, deeply, and unapologetically yourself. And that is more than enough.
Megan Dalla-Camina

As long as we’re rejecting ourselves and causing harm to our bodies and minds, there’s no point in talking about loving and accepting others.
Thich Nhat Hanh

As they become known to and accepted by us, our feelings and the honest exploration of them become sanctuaries and spawning grounds for the most radical and daring of ideas.
Audre Lorde

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You might want to listen to this song by Amy Steinberg … here is a woman who is EXACTLY who she’s meant to be!

You have reached the super secret part. We didn’t want to overwhelm our readers who are not into the Gene Keys, so left most of this post general and universal.

Although contemplation of your own inner life is a solitary journey, it can be helpful to share thoughts with fellow travelers. Please always feel free to share your insights or questions in the comments.