As you know, acceptance with any change in life be it birth, diagnosis, gender, death, is very personal. Everyone arrives to their place of acceptance in their own way and time. If you think the process of acceptance does not change the dynamic of your thinking and extend to your family and the friends you surround yourself with, you would be sadly mistaken.
Be patient with one another. This process is not easy. Surround yourself with supportive and understanding friends, even if you have to seek out an entirely new peer group. Find your tribe, they will get you through anything. You will know them because they have the best listening ears and administer tough love when you feel you can’t find the strength on your own.
When you are knee deep in this path of acceptance, suggestions will be made that look beautiful on paper but do not translate well in real life. You will experience multiple bumps in the road that are hard to explain but are keenly felt. This is a very confusing and challenging place to be. This is again where you need your tribe. They know your struggle by the look in your eyes without ever having to say a word. Their presence and understanding will get you through not only these bumps but over multiple mountains.
You will fall and you will fail in this new path you traverse. There will always be the judges and negaters there to look down on you and tell you “I told you so.” They have the luxury of judgement while you have a life path to keep forging forward on. Some of their words will be easy to dismiss, while others will bite deep. That is exactly the time you need to revisit the reason you started on this new path. Everyone has their own agenda they will pull you into if you are not strong on yours.
Your biggest influence on anyone, including to yourself, is being the best you can possibly be every day no matter how many times you fall. It’s in the falling, in fact, that we learn to help others back up.
Acceptance to any new change is uncharted territory. Many have walked similar paths but no one has walked yours. Share your joy and share your pain along the way, you never know who you may be lifting from a recent fall. Keep on, my friends, together we got this.
WILingness 