Some ramblings on Acceptence

Many years ago I had a mentor, who used to tell me that the key to happiness was acceptance. Accepting people and situations for what and who they really were. She would tell me over and over again that I needed to accept people for who they were. She often sounded  like a broken record. Could I always be in the wrong ? Was I always my problem ? And yes most of the time I was wrong, I was a serious whiner back then.

Acceptance can be confusing. At that  time in  my life I was married to my first husband and  I wasn't happy. I thought that to accept  my husband for who he was meant I would have to stay married to him.  But I was wrong, acceptance meant that I took a long hard look at the marriage for what it really was, I had to accept myself for who I was and accept my ex-husband for who he was. When I accepted all these things I made the tough decision  to separate. So acceptance was not some sort of prison. it was actually freedom.

This may seem like a weird Christmas message but I really think it's an important one. I love my family I just  feel at peace being around them and I hope they enjoy me too. Many families don't have this, Christmas can be a tense time where families come together out of duty but don't really want to be there. I hate to leave, I prolong leaving as long as I can.

I think family is important, I love that my family accepts me for who I am and the choices I have made. In fact they are really quite good at this.

I have a very blended family, divorces have brought us step kids, step grandchildren,  step mothers, step fathers. I am my husbands third wife, I have been married twice, together we have 6 children, I had a daughter with my first husband and my husband had children with both his ex wives. We have been together now 15 years. My parents are divorced and both remarried, my father is now a widow and is dating my friend. On the outside we would seem like a great reality show. Heading the entire family is my 92 year old grandmother who was married to my grandfather for over 60 years, she is kind of like queen Elisabeth, stable and unchanging. Yet my grandmother amazes me as she accepts  as gay  family members "come out" and marry, and other family members divorce and remarry.

Can we take the unique quilt called our family and appreciate it for it's beauty, even if some of the stitches are crooked ?

There is a lot of love in my family so I guess in the end family does not have to be related by blood but by be love and acceptance.

So tonight I dedicate this blog to my Mom, whom I love. Who now joins us at my Dad's place on Christmas day so that now my siblings and I can spend Christmas with both our parents. What a joy it is to be able to share this sacred family day with both my parents.

I am excited about my life, super excited in fact.

I am excited about my life, super excited in fact.

I have done a lot of work on myself this fall, stripping away old habits, losing a ton of weight and really trying to figure out a few things. As a result I feel amazing. I am thinner then I remember being, I am strong emotionally and I have reconnected with some great relationships, my calendar for the next couple of weeks is booked with lunches and hikes with some of the most positive people I know. People who support and ground me, and who like me.

I took an online course by  Robin Sharma and did a ton of writing, both business and personal, it was well worth both the effort and the cost.

The results are as follows; I love what I do, I love yoga, I love running and most of all I love sharing this passion with people. I love  the studio, it attracts such kind and interesting people, my students inspire me to be a better teacher. I love their stories and am grateful for their support of my dream.

I also love my marriage, my husband is aweseome, supportive, generous, and super fun, he makes me laugh almost every day. I would marry him all over again if given the choice. Through his eyes I see myself, both the good and the bad, He has been my greatest teacher.

I have some great relationships and some I need to change, I have some negative people in my life and sadly I have to move away from them. This is never easy and won't be done with out some sadness..


I would like to spend more time with my grandchildren, they are full of unconditional love that decompresses me.

I need to do more yoga, it centers me and connects me to a divine energy that seems to flow through me when I am practicing yoga. I seem to float through life less attached to outcomes, the opinions of others, other various attachments. I hope to float more next year.

I want to run more too, I have loved running this fall, I am strong and  running is an amazing form of meditation. Running clears  old and negative thoughts from my head so that  new creative ideas can float in.

I need to play more, I work a bit too much, the downfall of owning your own business, in just a week I will be away with my husband at a resort. I need to do more of this kind of stuff.

I am going to ask more of the people in my life, both professionally and personally, I will express my voice more often. I will strive to do this in a loving way.


As part of the course I took I did an exercise that I really thought was great.  I wrote out the 5 things that would make next year the best year of my life, one was physical, one was spiritual, one involved my business, one involved family and one involved adventure.  I have already  begun the journey in some of these areas.
 I know that these things may not happen but the exercise along helped me to refocus on what is really important in my life.

I have shared some of these with friends and with their love and support I hope to embark on the  best year of my life, so bring in 2012 becuase I am ready, surrounded by great students, family and friends.

I love being of service to the universe, and I hope more and more I can get myself out of the way and let the flow happen.