“That which you most need will be found where you least want to look.“​
​- Carl Jung

Hello friends,

If your clients are like mine, they are probably coming to you because they want to be somewhere different than where they are at. They want to go back to their youthful strength and energy. They want to go back to before an injury. They want to get rid of their anxiety or overwhelm, etc. Another way to look at that is that they are not accepting where they are at right now. The sneaky way that non-acceptance shows up is when it’s difficult to see the otherwise obvious, uncomfortable, often humble-but-nessecary first steps. They are looking too far away, wishing they could start from where they want to be, instead of where they are today. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to get where we want to go by starting from somewhere we are not. You can’t get there from there.

I believe our struggles are calling us towards a deeper place inside of ourselves. It is the part that rebels against being pushed away or numbed. The more the person is projecting themselves to somewhere outside of themselves, the louder this part becomes. Their pain gets aggrevated or the overwhelm gets worse, etc. The process of healing begins with acceptance.

When we accept where we are, the part of us that is resisting relaxes. We become more open. Therefore our first job is always to help them to accept where they are. There is no going back. We don’t know what the future holds. All we really know is the truth of our present. When we accept this truth, we are able start close in. We can start with the first step.

This applies equally to us as health professionals. If you want to grow your business, advance your career, find more ease and fulfillment, then the first thing to do is accept the fear or the overwhelm or whatever you are feeling now that is driving you. Finding acceptance for ourselves in our current state not only helps us chart the best course, it also makes it possible to help our clients find acceptance for themselves.

You cannot get there from there. You can only get there from here.

Progress Your Practice

Enjoy these tools that help my own healing and clients from trusted experts.

Start Close In – poem by David Whyte (5-min read)
​One of my favourite poems by one of my favourite poets. May reading this help inspire you towards the beauty of looking closer and starting with that first step, the one you don’t want to take.
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Why is Acceptance Important for Our Mental Health? (10-min read)
​This short article explains a few reasons why acceptance helps our mental health: we see our part in the problem, it helps us make peace with loss, we are able to find compassion, and it makes clear the transient nature of reality.
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Marcus Aurelius Quotes on Acceptance (7-min watch)
​Enjoy this short video that explores quotes from the famous stoic and author of Meditations. Marcus Aurelius reminds us that what happens to us helps us become more expansive, that pain is limited, and to love those things that are part of our destiny.

If you have feedback or resources to share, please reply to let me know.

Thanks for being here.

Gabriel