"The first step toward acceptance is denial."
What?
Had to reread this a couple of times before it made sense. I had always relegated denial to a negative, useless place where people hid from the truth. I thought insulating with denial was a backwards move. It was my enemy.
The rest of this quote helped me understand:
"The first step toward moving through denial is accepting that we may be in denial, and then gently allowing ourselves to move through."
In this way, denial serves a very valuable purpose. It is a stepping stone to reality. I had never thought of it that way.
So instead of judging denial as being a bad thing, I have decided to try and see it as a necessary part of the process. Instead of the problem it is part of the solution.
Judging things never seems to get me anywhere anyway so here is one more thing I hope to let go!
C
Quote from "Letting Go" by Melody Beattie
Jef Gazely on Codependence & How to Develop Healthy Relationships
Jef Gazely- Dysfunctional Families and the Shame Cycle
Check out the Orange County ACA website at: Orange County Adult Children
