The Subtle Power of Feeling Accepted

by Jan Davis

Patricia Howard and I started coming to the Center at the same time, around 20 years ago. She was in my Foundations class and I’ve watched her grow and blossom. Although we haven’t spent a lot of time together over the years, I’ve always felt a special connection with her. Patricia says:
I love the Center. As I walk through the doors I breathe in the scent and exhale into a space of safety, peace, calm, and open-heartedness. With my spiritual community I open to nurturing and being nurtured, to healing and being healed, and to recommit and reaffirm my connection with that One Presence and One Loving Power. I know I am OK no matter where I am on my spiritual journey.

What a subtle yet powerful thing it is to feel safe and accepted. I came here thinking I was too damaged to ever really be whole. Then I heard the message that I could change my entire life just by changing my mind. I heard the message that Spirit was in me, just the way I was and just the way I was not. Gradually I came to believe it.
I found a place where I learned to honor my humanness, to express love and joy, and to appreciate the gifts I have to give. I found a place where I could feel safe enough to let myself out. I found a place where I could learn to forgive myself for the moments when I don’t accept the person or situation in front of me.

I sometimes fail miserably to live what I have learned. But I am surrounded here at the Center by people who continue to love and accept me, to give me a safe place to heal and to thrive. This Center, its teachings, and its people are a blessing in my life. I plan to keep coming for another 20 years!

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