When Akiba was on his deathbed, he bemoaned to his Rabbi that he felt he was a failure. His Rabbi moved closer and asked why, and Akiba confessed he had not lived a life like Moses. The poor man began to weep, admitting that he feared God’s judgement. At this, the Rabbi leaned in and whispered in his ear gently, God will not judge Akiba for not being Moses, God will judge Akiba for not being Akiba. – A passage from the Talmud.
The story above reminds me of the pressure I have often placed on myself to be something more than I already am.
There are many pressures in every part of our life. What pressure we take on is different for everyone and yet, it appears in general that we often believe that being our unique beautiful-self is not good enough.
What criteria do we have to attain in order for our inner-judge to finally say, “Congratulations, you made it.” Unfortunately these hidden beliefs we have through life result in thoughts of being a failure and create emotions of unworthiness. Often it seems that the more pressure we place on ourselves, the less likely we are to achieve our goals.
So how do we find a sense of significance in a world that often seems shallow?
* Find your passion in life, when you love what you are doing, you will find your worthiness and feel good!
* Stop comparing your life or yourself with others, we are all unique with different gifts to offer ourselves and others.
* We all have a shadow side, learning to love every part of ourself is the first step in accepting ourselves.
* Giving ourselves permission to not always be the best in life, we have good days and hard days, it’s all apart of our journey.
* Use affirmations and stillness to help connect you to your true-self, knowing you have everything you need within.
* You have so much to give, more than you realise. Find that space within that gives you permission to be you! You deserve it.
Love is is eternal. Honour lasts. Truth abides. Beauty comes from within. Be you.
LIVING IN THIS MOMENT 
I just love this, Kaz. Even when I was skinny and 18 I didn’t like me. But good old Mother Earth and Father Time—and I’m starting to like me for just being me.
Thats so true Katie, you are beautiful in so many ways! Never lose sight of the Buddha within 🙂 Thankyou
Aww…love the Snoopy quote! (ɔ◔‿◔)ɔ ♥
Thanks 🙂
Great advice Karen!
❤️ SMACK ❤️
Thanks Val! Back to you too 🙂
He will judge you for not being more like Akiba… Love that Karen – thank you! ❤
Diana xo
Its a good reminder Diana. We just forget how amazing we are!
Another excellent, meaningful post…thank you. I was drawn to the point about giving ourselves permission to have bad days. Yeah, I’m not always good about doing that. 🙂 Have a good weekend!
Great comment Lizabeth. We all seem to do it at times. Becoming aware we need nurturing and care is important. Have a great weekend too. 🙂
Karen, Very supportive post for those who are critical of themselves.
It is important for all to undersand that the most important thing one can do, is to be just in dealing with others.
Christ says; “The measure of mercy you give to another will be measured to you.” For one who follows that advice, it matters not how anyone else, or even ourselves, see us.
Norman Vincent Peale once said; “Love God and go merrily on your way.” If you loves God, you can’t do anything that should make you your own worst critic.
-Alan
Thankyou Alan, wonderful quotes to expand this post. 🙂
Great post. Love the cartoon at the end! 🙂
Thanks Carol I think we can all relate to that! 🙂
This is a very good and positive insight Karen. I think that we become more aware by age and personal development.
Yes we do Irene, although for some it continues to be a difficult belief to change, even in older years. Thankyou for your comment.
I think it helps to be open-minded 😉
Love it kaz. I think we judge ourselves more harshly than we judge other people.
Yes we do Angie. Its good when we can recognise this in ourselves and continue to work on loving and nurturing our true-self. Thankyou for your comment 🙂
This narrative will continue to be relevant to me, Karen. Thank you so much. Comparison is the thief of joy after all. My inner perfectionist is ever present but I’m seeing more each day how much abundance is in my life and how much the people around me believe in me, are inspired by what I do and honour me with their true selves. A timeless post. Great stuff girlfriend!
Love your comment Rachel “Comparison is the thief of joy” how true. It is a gift to understand this and to realise the freedom we receive when we let go of our judgement and perfection. Thankyou. 🙂
I have given up comparing myself to others. Except.
Except for photography. I know I could be a better photographer but I don’t give enought time to truly practicing and sharpening my skills. If I chose to dedicate more hours to this, I would be better. I don’t choose to yet I still compare myself to others. Maybe I will put in an extra hour or so today,
We can make our lives hard at times Emilie! We know how to solve our problems and yet, sometimes we get caught up in believing we are separate from others. Comparing has always been a waste of energy for me. I like to think we all have unique gifts and there is always enough space for us to share these together in life. Thankyou for sharing. 🙂
Great post! We need to be reminded… 🙂
Thankyou lovely Amy, we do! 🙂
Thank you Karen a great post I needed today.
If I had to describe you, I think I would say you are a natural earthy creative person. You have beautiful strong energy within you and I don’t think you pretend to be anything but your true-self. You inspire many because of this Kath. Thankyou. 🙂
Awe thanks Karen I think as I age I have become more comfortable with who I am. Im an empath for sure I feel people’s emotions when I stand near them, even if they think they are hiding their true feelings. All I want to do is encourage people to follow their dreams, so thank you for such lovely words.
🙂