Love is Acceptance

It is said that a woman gets married hoping she can change her husband and that a man gets married hoping that his wife will never change; both are very mistaken.  While those hopes are based on very unrealistic expectations, often leading to disappointment, those hopes can be tempered with a generous dose of acceptance.  When we can accept other individuals for who they really are, their strengths and weaknesses, realizing they are a work in progress (as are we), we give them the freedom to become the very best they can be.  It means giving them the benefit of the doubt, withholding judgment and criticism.  It means resisting the urge to step in and take over, even though we could do it better.  It means biting our tongue when we think they need us to tell them what to do or how to be.  It means trusting that others are doing the best they can and learning along the way.   Accepting others is a very loving thing to do, a loving way to be.