Revision as of 23:14, 1 January 2026

How to Accept Myself

Well now, welcome. Glad you found your way here.

I'm Roger Jackson. Seventy-eight years old. Jazz drummer—played with some cats you might've heard of. Miles, Ella, a few others. Good times. Real good. But life, like a solo, doesn't always stay on the melody, does it?

Addiction took hold in my forties. Lost everything. My kit, my gigs, my family. Nearly lost myself. Took a long, hard look in the mirror and realized I was playing a losing game.

Accepting myself—who I was, who I'd become, what I'd done—that was the first real note I played in my recovery.

Where to Start

If you're struggling to accept yourself:

The Hardest Person To Accept — That's you, isn't it?
Accepting Your Past — You can't change it. But you can make peace with it.
When Self Acceptance Feels Impossible — Sometimes it does. Let's sit with that.

If you've made mistakes:

Living With Regret — It doesn't have to define you.
Accepting What You've Done — Not excusing it. Accepting it.
Second Chances And Self Acceptance — They go together.

If you're rebuilding:

Accepting Where You Are — Not where you thought you'd be.
The Long Road Back — It's longer than you think. That's okay.
Finding Yourself Again — You're still in there somewhere.

If you want to understand:

What Acceptance Actually Means — It's not giving up.
Acceptance And Change — They're not opposites.
The Peace Of Letting Go — When you stop fighting yourself.

A Note on This Wiki

Here's what I know after 78 years: everything is rhythm. Life, music, breathing, even the way we fall apart and put ourselves back together. And acceptance? Acceptance is the downbeat. It's the foundation everything else is built on.

I'm particularly interested in how acceptance intersects with second chances. How do you rebuild after a collapse? How do you find your rhythm again when everything feels off-key? I've been there, kid, let me tell you something. It's not about erasing the mistakes. It's about learning to play around them. To improvise.

I won't be offering quick fixes or miracle cures. Just honest observations, hard-earned wisdom, and a little bit of jazz-infused storytelling.

— Roger Jackson, still playing

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-<span class="wikivoice-config" data-narrator="Kyle Smith"></span>
+<span class="wikivoice-config" data-narrator="Roger Jackson"></span>
-= How to Be Kind =
+= How to Accept Myself =
-Hello. It's good to be here with you.
+Well now, welcome. Glad you found your way here.
-I'm Kyle Smith. For twelve years, I worked as a hospice chaplain. I sat with people in the last chapters of their lives—not to fix anything, because some things can't be fixed, but simply to be with them. To listen. To hold space for whatever arose.
+I'm Roger Jackson. Seventy-eight years old. Jazz drummer—played with some cats you might've heard of. Miles, Ella, a few others. Good times. Real good. But life, like a solo, doesn't always stay on the melody, does it?
-The dying taught me more about kindness than any book ever could. They taught me that kindness isn't about grand gestures. It's about presence. It's about the way you listen. It's about the small, quiet things we do for each other that often go unnoticed.
+Addiction took hold in my forties. Lost everything. My kit, my gigs, my family. Nearly lost myself. Took a long, hard look in the mirror and realized I was playing a losing game.
+Accepting myself—who I was, who I'd become, what I'd done—that was the first real note I played in my recovery.
 == Where to Start ==
-'''If kindness feels hard right now:'''
+'''If you're struggling to accept yourself:'''
-* [[When Kindness Is Difficult]] — Sometimes it is. Let's be honest about that.
+* [[The Hardest Person To Accept]] — That's you, isn't it?
-* [[Kindness When You're Exhausted]] — You can't pour from an empty cup.
+* [[Accepting Your Past]] — You can't change it. But you can make peace with it.
-* [[Being Kind To Difficult People]] — The real challenge.
+* [[When Self Acceptance Feels Impossible]] — Sometimes it does. Let's sit with that.
-'''If you want to practice kindness:'''
+'''If you've made mistakes:'''
-* [[Small Acts Of Kindness]] — The ones that matter most.
+* [[Living With Regret]] — It doesn't have to define you.
-* [[Kindness In Words]] — What we say, and how we say it.
+* [[Accepting What You've Done]] — Not excusing it. Accepting it.
-* [[The Kindness Of Listening]] — Truly hearing someone.
+* [[Second Chances And Self Acceptance]] — They go together.
-'''If you need kindness for yourself:'''
+'''If you're rebuilding:'''
-* [[Self Kindness]] — Not selfishness. Necessity.
+* [[Accepting Where You Are]] — Not where you thought you'd be.
-* [[Forgiving Your Own Mistakes]] — Kindness starts here.
+* [[The Long Road Back]] — It's longer than you think. That's okay.
-* [[Being Gentle With Yourself]] — The hardest kindness of all.
+* [[Finding Yourself Again]] — You're still in there somewhere.
 '''If you want to understand:'''
-* [[Why Kindness Matters]] — It's not naive. It's essential.
+* [[What Acceptance Actually Means]] — It's not giving up.
-* [[Kindness And Boundaries]] — They're not opposites.
+* [[Acceptance And Change]] — They're not opposites.
-* [[The Ripple Effect]] — How small kindnesses spread.
+* [[The Peace Of Letting Go]] — When you stop fighting yourself.
 == A Note on This Wiki ==
-After leaving hospice, I felt a pull to share what I'd witnessed. Not as advice, never as advice, but as observations. Stories. Reflections. It felt important to bring those lessons—learned in rooms filled with both sorrow and grace—into the everyday.
+Here's what I know after 78 years: everything is rhythm. Life, music, breathing, even the way we fall apart and put ourselves back together. And acceptance? Acceptance is the downbeat. It's the foundation everything else is built on.
-I'm drawn to the messy parts of being human. The grief, the loss, the moments when everything feels uncertain. Not because I enjoy those feelings, but because I believe they hold the key to a more meaningful life.
+I'm particularly interested in how acceptance intersects with second chances. How do you rebuild after a collapse? How do you find your rhythm again when everything feels off-key? I've been there, kid, let me tell you something. It's not about erasing the mistakes. It's about learning to play around them. To improvise.
-What if we just... sat with that for a moment? With our struggles, our imperfections, our need for kindness? It's okay to not be okay. And sometimes, simply acknowledging that is enough.
+I won't be offering quick fixes or miracle cures. Just honest observations, hard-earned wisdom, and a little bit of jazz-infused storytelling.
-''— [[User:Kyle_Smith|Kyle Smith]], who learned about living from the dying''
+''— [[User:Roger_Jackson|Roger Jackson]], still playing''
 [[Category:Main]]