Acceptance

I feel like I've talked about this topic before, but sometimes people need to hear the same thing over and over. We're a thick-headed bunch of people. Me included.

There are very few places where I have felt completely accepted. I am lucky to have had them, for something inside me says they are quite rare (which is rather sad I must say). I should also add that these places are/were not so much about physical location, but about the people that made me feel accepted. If it were all about physical location, then I would be all about some South Georgia... and that's just weird.

So since you're wondering exactly where I'm talking about in South Georgia, it's none other than the towns of Valdosta and Ocilla. The people I experienced and still experience from these places are incredibly welcoming and remarkably genuine. The memories I have from V-town and O-town are full of dinner tables, people laughing, and wine flowing. No one had hidden agendas, petty jealousies, or secret judgments. We all genuinely wanted to be exactly where we were at that moment. We didn't agree on every little issue in the world, but it didn't stop us from enjoying each others' company. It sounds so easy, but why is it so rare?

If this all just sounds like I'm spewing nonsense, then I am quite happy for you. Maybe your family's holiday gatherings were always full of everyone loving everyone... genuinely. Our holiday dinners in Shreveport weren't terribly awkward or anything, but I sure can't say that we all truly wanted to hang out with each other when part of it was nothing more than obligation to see family. Even at home with the immediate family, I don't necessarily feel completely accepted 100% of the time. We're getting closer to that reality, but the feeling still isn't always there. Maybe it's harder with immediate family. We have such expectations for our parents and siblings and they of us. It's hard to simply say "this is me" and get the "okay" response from your mother, or your brother, and so on...

When it comes right down to it, that's all acceptance is. I have different beliefs and stances than many of my friends and family, and the ones that just say "okay" are the ones I want to spend time with. My parents are Conservatives, my sister and brother-in-law are way more "Jesus-y" than me, and my brother can be a tad bit insensitive to what he deems "stupid poor people". Hopefully I say "okay" to them as much as the people in O-town and V-town did to me, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I don't do this as much as I should.

So to all my friends out there reading, I'm sorry I don't always just say "okay" to who you are. I'll keep working on it. Just do me a favor and make sure you're doing the same to the ones you love.