My Acceptance Circle

This year will be a beautiful one. Korinne will turn 4! Khloe will be 3, and every day will be an adventure in discovering things! I'll be 23 and for me, every day will hold a new discovery about myself, my God, and the world around me.
Recently I was diagnosed with bi polar 2, something I wasn't sure I wanted to announce to the world, but then I realized it's only things we don't acknowledge that have power over us. Plus, I don't believe that a diagnoses is a label on our lives unless we allow it. Anyway, my life has changed dramatically! I am feeling better then I have in years, part of me feels sad that I was ok with living with so much pain for so long, refusing to help myself, and for thinking my roller coaster of emotions was all there was for me.
However, the past is in the past, and maybe I can inspire one person to truly examine their mental health.
So, as part of my therapy, I have been reading a book called "suffering is optional" by Cheri Huber. It is awesome, and I'm going to take one of her online classes. One thing about Cheri Huber is that she's Buddhist. This immediately turned me off, I'm a Christian! I can't read a Buddhist book! Oh, labels, labels, labels. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that nothing she says goes against Christianity. In fact, many things would go right along with what I believe. And digging deeper, I believe some of the things she suggests will help me to shed my wordly, conditioned ways of thinking, and deepen my relationship with Christ. I hope to be blogging lots about my journey in the next few weeks.
My challenge for today is called the 'circle of acceptance'. Get a piece of paper and at the top write "love answers all the questions judgement fails to hear" then draw a large circle,
in it write all the things/people/beliefs you accept, outside the circle write
what you don't accept. Take some time
throughout the day to think, really think, about those things outside the circle. Can you accept without condoning? Examine WHY you don't accept them? Can you think of a concrete reason? Are they based on a certain belief or assumption? Where did that assumption/belief come from? Is is valid? Can you change it?
By the end of the day, or over time, see how many things you can move inside your circle.
I'm excited to begin my challenge for the day. I'll update later. :)