Summary

The author reflects on the journey to self-acceptance, realizing that they, like everyone else, are inherently whole despite life's challenges.

Abstract

The article "We Are All Whole" delves into the personal growth of the author, who initially struggled with self-perception and the need for external validation. Through introspection and life experiences, the author comes to understand that wholeness is an intrinsic quality of being human. They share their transformation from seeing others as whole while viewing themselves as incomplete, to the realization that they too have always been whole. The author emphasizes that emotions and life events, though they may obscure our vision of our own completeness, do not diminish our inherent wholeness. The message is clear: self-love and acceptance are key to recognizing our innate wholeness, and this understanding is a profound truth that resides within each person, waiting to be acknowledged.

Opinions

The author initially perceived a disconnect between their self-image and the image of others, seeing themselves as lacking and others as complete.
External validation was once a significant source of self-worth for the author, but it ultimately left them feeling empty.
The process of self-forgiveness and the recognition of one's own wholeness is a transformative journey that the author is actively engaged in.
The author believes that our wholeness is constant, unaffected by the pain and struggles we face in life.
Reflecting on past self-criticism and lack of self-love brings sadness to the author, highlighting the importance of self-compassion.
The author suggests that the pursuit of external affirmation is futile without self-love, as it does not fulfill the sense of inner completeness.
The article conveys the author's belief that everyone is inherently whole, and this truth is independent of our ability to perceive it at any given moment.
The author uses personal anecdotes, such as journaling and tarot card readings, to reinforce the theme of wholeness and the idea that we already possess everything we need within ourselves.

We Are All Whole

Always

What does it mean to be a whole person?

Heart:

I observed other people as being whole long before I could recognize myself as whole.

Even when I noticed other people’s irritating habits, annoying preferences, or intense messiness, I still often saw them as whole.

I used to see myself quite differently though.

I used to perceive myself as missing something- not whole.

I decided I had to spend my time and life proving myself to others.

Striving for and finding things to affirm my worth, for a long time the external validation was what I was relying on.

It still causes me sadness to reflect upon how hard I was on myself in the past, and just how much I didn’t love myself.

But I am working through the process of forgiving myself now because I have truly seen that I am no different from all those people that have come and gone in my life that I perceived as completely whole.

I am whole now. Always.

We are all whole. Always.

Sometimes our pain, losses, grief, and emotions cause us to feel incomplete. But we are always whole. At least this is what I now believe to be true.

It took me a long time to get to this point though.

I have been wading through the dark heaviness for what feels like forever to make it here.

It feels like I had to prove first to myself that all the external validation I could gain still made me feel empty. All the people who saw something in me still left me feeling like I wasn’t enough, because I didn’t love myself. I had to reach this realization alone and in my own time, and I had to face a lot of harsh truths to arrive at this place.

So, What does it mean to be a whole person?

My simple answer, from the heart, is that all it means to be a whole person is to be a person.

We are all whole- always, but can’t always see it or feel it, recognize or understand it. It isn’t always obvious or available to accept within ourselves but I believe it to be the underlying truth- often waiting to be unearthed.

When I think back, even amid my most self affirming, ego-centric pursuits I was whole but searching, whole but unable to love myself or recognize my wholeness.

I am whole. You are whole. We are all whole, always!

Connecting and tuning into my heart reminds me I am whole when I forget. It reaffirms to me too that we’re all part of everything, and not separate from it.

As synchronicities would have it too my morning journaling session today brought up the theme of wholeness before I even read this prompt. I pulled the card Purification which had the words, Bare essentials, The naked truth, and Wholeness. All you need, you have I wrote in my journal, and The Magician card of the traditional rider wait tarot deck affirmed this message.

Oftentimes we feel we are missing something, but the truth is we can spend our whole lives feeling this way and it isn’t true. We are whole as we are in all our chaotic messy humanness.

We are all whole, Always!

Thanks Diana C. for this beautiful prompt :)!