Radical Acceptance Can Change Our Whole Life

Recently, I listened to an audiobook called Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach, renowned American psychologist, author, and proponent of Buddhist meditation.

It was nothing short of life-changing for me.

One nugget that stuck with me even after days of listening to it is the following (not verbatim):

It is rumored that when Buddha was meditating, a Satan named Mara (read anger or any other destructive emotion) came to disturb his peace and wreak havoc in Buddha's life.
Buddha very calmly replied "You can do whatever you wish to, Mara. But first, come and have tea"

I am repeating this is not exactly the story that Tara recited in the audiobook but the gist is the same as the great Sufi mystic Rumi said many thousand years later:

Welcome, entertain them all (sadness frustration anger)
because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

This is something I wrote around five years ago on self-acceptance-:

You do it to yourself
And then you regret it
And later, you can not forgive yourself.
How twisted we are by design!

The hardest thing, I think,
is to accept your own self, with all your flaws, unconditionally.

Love, respect, care will automatically follow.

What are your views on self-acceptance, self-compassion?

Have you tried to accept yourself totally with all your flaws and weaknesses?