Every morning a little note from the Universe shows up in my e-mail box. The note is actually penned by author Mike Dooley (who has written a series of books called “Notes from the Universe”), but it’s personalized and so often fits whatever happens to be going on in my life that I have come to think of the encouraging nudge or supportive suggestion that shows up each morning as direct from the Universe.

Just recently the Universe (through Mike as translator) had this to say: “The path to enlightenment is not a path at all, Dawn; it’s actually a metaphor for the time it takes you to allow yourself to be happy with who you already are, where you’re already at, and what you already have — no matter what.” Amen, Universe! I so agree.

As the new year comes around once again, some of us think about resolutions or ways to improve ourselves. As if we are currently somehow deficient, lacking, not quite up to par. Of course, who doesn’t want good health, a safe and secure home, good food, and happy, inspiring relationships? There are always ways to tweak our lives for the better. But I think what the Universe is saying is in this case is: “Hey, do you really see what you have all around you, right now, right here, inside of you? Isn’t it great?”

We are our own worst critic. We see all the tiny things that irritate us about ourselves. (And if we can’t own up to seeing those things in ourselves, we may deftly project them onto others. Which is why we so often complain about our parents and the government, bad drivers and incompetent sales clerks.) We tend to have little patience — with the world, and with ourselves. We’re a culture that wants perfection, and we want it right now.

So, how do we walk that fine line between loving ourselves (and others, and the world), knowing that we are just exactly where we need to be (geographically, physically, mentally, spiritually) and yet expanding, deepening, discovering and embracing all those divine aspects of who we really are, some of which we may simply haven’t yet met?

To reword a message from the Universe: Acceptance is a metaphor for the process of being happy with who we already are, where we already are and what we already have. No matter what.

An Additional Note Alaska Wellness would like to thank Mike Macy for his many years as a columnist. Mike is not only knowledgeable about the deep connections and intricate subtleties of bodywork, but also a creative wordsmith, and so this editor will surely miss working with him. Thanks for your many informative and enlightening contributions to Wellness, Mike! We welcome Jude Whitebear as a new columnist this year. Jude will be covering various aspects of our relationship with animals, especially in regard to healing.

Dawn Brunke is the editor of Alaska Wellness and the author of Animal Voices, Shapeshifting with Our Animal Companions, and the newly released Animal Voices, Animal Guides. See www.animalvoices.net for more.