There is the situation you are in.
And then there is the fight you have with it in your head.
“This should not be happening.”
“They should not be like this.”
“I should be further along by now.”
That second layer often hurts more than the thing itself.
Radical acceptance is not about loving everything that happens.
It is about dropping the “should” long enough to see clearly what is here.
Your actual body.
Your actual feelings.
This actual moment.
Some teachers describe it like tuning an instrument.
You cannot tune a guitar by insisting it already sounds perfect.
You have to really hear how off it is, without flinching,
before you can bring it into tune.
It is the same with your inner life.
Self-awareness starts with honest noticing:
“I am scared.”
“I am angry.”
“I feel numb and far away from myself.”
When you stop fighting your own experience, something softens.
Your nervous system does not have to battle reality and itself at the same time.
From that softer place, real change is actually possible.
Love here is the willingness to stand beside yourself,
even when you do not like the chapter you are in.