Accepting oneself sounds like a fairly straightforward affair. After all it is something that we are all automatically born with, yet it is also something that somehow seems to slip from our grasp as we progress and/or regress in life. Self criticism is a popular gig.

As I continue along the path of meditation and mindfulness I am beginning to understand the importance of self acceptance when it comes to the whole business of peace of mind. The two things seem to go together.

A major factor in my own quest for peace of mind is my guitar. Recently I had cause to return to using my original ‘exam guitar’ for a week. When I started busking last year I bought a ‘plug in’ guitar and have been using that for the past seven months. Playing my old guitar proved quite challenging. The ‘neck’ was shorter and the ‘action’ -the distance between the strings and the fret board – was higher. Both factors made things more difficult than what I had become accustomed to. An eye opener, in a manner of speaking.

I am very much in favour of eye opening experiences of any kind.