Where Do You Find Acceptance?

I was looking at the Blogaday challenge and happened upon this prompt:

Where do you find acceptance? For your ideas? For the secret notions you have for who you really want to be? Or think you are? Who are the friends, family or co-workers who are most accepting of your true self? And how do they demonstrate their acceptance? What is different about how they treat you than other people?

Wow, this has REALLY changed for me in the past 5 months (has it only been that long?).

Last year, I would have TOTALLY said that I found acceptance within my circle amazing friends that I have had the immense privilege of getting to know. And though that wasn’t really a bad thing, when certain aspects of my life changed, so did my friendship with some of those friends.

Sad, really.

I find I am drawn to people who have some of the same basic core beliefs that I do:

There is a supreme God who was the creator of this world for us, that he had a son, Jesus Christ, who was the savior of the world, and that it’s important to have religion in your life.

I have certainly found plenty of THOSE awesome peeps lately. I LOVE being with them and sharing and laughing and loving together. I enjoy spending time with them and letting my son play with their children. And while I still search out uplifting, patient, FUNNY, understanding people in my life, it’s shifted a little.

I rely more on my family. I seek acceptance there. Because at the end of every day, THEY are the people I know matter the most. And if they won’t accept me, who will?

I mean, seriously, have you HEARD me burp? Family will put up with the beer-like burp at brunch, but friends? Now that might be another story (scrapbooking-party-goes excluded, naturally).

Seeking acceptance is a very personal step as a human, and seeking it among those who don’t truly love you for who you are can be very, very painful. Since 2011 is all about learning from the lessons I’ve worked through (fun, but not really), I’m pretty sure that I’ll go in the direction of my family for help in matters concerning personal perspective and off-the-wall ideas.

It’s the best way I know to get a pat on the back at the end of the day.

(I realize that I left a lot of that question un-answered, but I feel what I put down was lengthy enough, plus I feel like giving a shout-out to some while inadvertently leaving out others could cause hurt feelings. Also, I’m on the PC, so I don’t have any current photos, and I cannot get them off the Time Capsule…grrrrr.)