To change is to accept

To change, is to accept...
We gotta make a change... It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes. Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live and let's change the way we treat each other. You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do what we gotta do, to survive. (The late, great Tupac Shakur)
Change is different from one person to the next. Some might realize they are doing something wrong and want to correct it, others might already be doing right but want to do better. Sadly, some might be doing right and feel it is getting them no where, and change for the worse. But for whatever the reason is, it is a change. Without change, we as people would not be where we are today. For half of the population, change is a natural reaction to their surroundings. And for unfortunate other half, stubbornness is deeply rooted within, and to make a change is like trying to squeeze apple juice from a lemon. It's not that we don't want to make a change, it is just challenging for us to do so.
Sometimes what we consider pride, makes it hard to make changes. Pride is the sense of self-respect. It is one of the few natural insticts we have that causes more harm than good. Pride might not be the root of all evil, but it is most definitely one of the branches. Thus why it is noted as being one of the 7 deadly sins. It is stronger than any one man. It causes countrys to battle in war, it causes friends and family to not speak. Not all pride is bad, don't get me wrong. But it takes a very strong minded individual to understand the difference between pride as arrogance and pride as self-respect. Self-respect does not lower the sense of self-respect for others.
A person never choked to death but swallowing their pride, & neither will I. Swallowing our pride is knowing and accepting that a change is needed. I always tell my son to use his fears and weaknesses as tools for strength. I finally feel I am at the point where I can do the same. I accepted faith and the reality of my life as what it is. Perhaps it was time I follow my own motto... It is what it is. This is the hand I was delt, unfair as it may seem to me. It was given to me because he knew I could handle it. By me telling myself and believing that I cannot handle handle it, I doubted him. And thus the reason why it felt to me that my life only got worse. Once you accept, you are freed from your mental burdens. For the first time in years, I can smile for no apparent reason.
It was time I make the necessary CHANGES to move on from my past. I know can cross the bridge to reach my future. I am sure I will revisit my past quite a deal in my life to come. But to know that I do not have to live in it is a blessing.
We do reap what we sow, but not forever. At some point we are forgiven, but I learned that to be forgiven, we must first forgive ourselves.