Connecting With Our Intrinsic Worth

In her book, Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach, Ph.D. states D. H. Lawrence described our Western culture as being like a great uprooted tree with its roots in the air. “We are perishing for lack of fulfillment of our greater needs,” he wrote, “we are cut off from the great sources of our inward nourishment and renewal.” We come alive as we rediscover the truth of our goodness and our natural connectedness to all of life. Our “greater needs” are met in relating lovingly with each other, relating with full presence to each moment, relating to the beauty and pain that is within and around us.

We live our lives plagued with the feeling that we are not good enough. Fears, insecurities, and desires have been passed along for generations. We are imperfect people who were parented by imperfect parents, raised by their imperfect parents. Mother Teresa provided the startling insight, "The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis but rather the feeling of not belonging."

We have developed strategies to manage the pain of inadequacy. Which of the following do you recognize in yourself?

• We embark on one self-improvement project after another
• We hold back and play it safe rather than risking failure
• We withdraw from our experience of the present moment
• We keep busy 
• We become our own worst critics
• We focus on other people's faults, turning them into the enemy

The first step in reconnecting to our own goodness is awareness, recognizing these tendencies in ourselves and in our relationships with others. Tara Brach, Ph.D. calls the process of reconnection cultivating Radical Acceptance, learning to free ourselves from being at war within and moving toward living our lives with a wise and compassionate heart. This is best done with the support of family and community. Acknowledging our need for connection and both giving and receiving unconditional love is an important step in this process as well.

As D.H. Lawrence further stated, we must replant ourselves again in the universe where our roots can be nourished. It is time  to connect with our intrinsic worth and value, loving ourselves so that we can better love our families, neighbors, friends and beyond. The words of Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

For more on Connection in the Family:
gifts-we-can-give-our-children-connection.html
Guided Meditation: Pathway to Inner Peace, with Tara Brach:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn6m0oN6cwI
Radical Acceptance with Tara Brach: 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S4sep6mu7I

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