The Language of Letting Go: September 23rd

Tolerance

Practice tolerance.

Tolerate our quirks, our feelings, our reactions, our peculiarities, and our humanness. Tolerate our ups and downs, our resistance to change, and our struggling and sometimes awkward nature.

Tolerate our fears, our mistakes, our natural tendency to duck from problems, and pain. Tolerate our hesitancy to get close, expose ourselves, and be vulnerable.

Tolerate our need to occasionally feel superior, to sometimes feel ashamed, and to occasionally share love as an equal. Tolerate the way we progress - a few steps forward, and a couple back.

Tolerate our instinctive desire to control and how we reluctantly learn to practice detachment. Tolerate the way we say we want love, and then sometimes push others away. Tolerate our tendency to get obsessive, forget to trust God, and occasionally get stuck.

Some things we do not tolerate. Do not tolerate abusive or destructive behaviors toward others or ourselves.

Practice healthy, loving tolerance of ourselves, said one man. When we do, we'll learn tolerance for others. Then, take it one step further; learn that all the humanness we're tolerating is what makes ourselves and others beautiful.

Today, I will be tolerant of myself. From that, I will learn appropriate tolerance of others.

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation.

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Tolerance, to me, means acceptance. When I find myself aggravated, I have to ask what it is I'm refusing to accept? Then I pray for guidance, as I surrender MY control over running the world & everyone in it!

There are situations that truly ARE intolerable, however.  When someone is treating me with disrespect, I do not have to 'accept' it OR tolerate it!  When someone has crossed the boundary line with me, then I give myself permission to speak up about it, or to withdraw from the situation without feeling guilty about doing so.

For today, I will practice tolerance of myself & others.  For today, I will tolerate my imperfections without dwelling on them or making a mountain out of a molehill. 

For today, I will accept my humanity.