The Good Bad Human Meditation

What if the parts of yourself you judge as "flaws" are actually just part of being beautifully, messily human? This 7-minute meditation explores a radical practice of self-acceptance - learning to hold your contradictions with the same affection you'd have for a beloved (but slightly mischievous) friend.

Perfect for anyone tired of trying to fix themselves and ready to embrace their perfectly imperfect humanity.

More at www.peteryoga.com

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to this practice. So I was teaching a class the
other day and my dog Huckleberrywas being, well, let's call him
a a good bad boy. You know, the kind of behavior
that's both endearing and freaking exasperating.
So he was whining at the door, desperate to see his new

(00:22):
girlfriend next door, scratchingand crying because he was so in
love and so frustrated and so Nestle himself in his adorable
ways. And as I was trying to teach
while managing his chaos, something hit me.
We're all good, bad boys and girls, aren't we?

(00:46):
So find a comfortable seat wherever you are.
Close your eyes if that feels right, or just soften your gaze
downwards. Today we're going to explore
something a little radical, whatit means to love all the

(01:07):
contradictory parts of ourselves, the parts that are
wise and foolish, patient and impatient, deeply spiritual and
also completely and utterly human.
So let's begin. Take a breath and think about

(01:30):
this for a moment. What parts of yourself do you
judge as bad? Maybe it's in your impatience
and traffic. Maybe it's the way you still get
jealous sometimes. Maybe it's how you can be

(01:51):
incredibly wise in one moment and completely reactive in the
next. Now here's the thing.
What if those aren't flaws to fix?
What if they're just part of being human?
I want you to think of one thingabout yourself that you may

(02:12):
typically judge. Something you wish you could
change or improve. Got it?
Now instead of trying to fix it or make it go away, just say to
yourself I am a good bad boy or I'm a good bad girl.

(02:33):
Say it with a little smile on your face like you're talking
about a beloved pet who just knocked over the trash can but
looks so darn cute doing it. I'm a good bad boy.
I am impatient sometimes and I'malso learning patience.
I'm a good bad girl, I get anxious about things I can't

(02:55):
control and I'm also incredibly caring.
Feel how different this is from trying to eliminate parts of
yourself. You're not saying these
qualities are perfect, you're not saying they don't sometimes
cause problems. You're just holding them with

(03:15):
affection rather than judgement like you would with a child.
Take another breath and think about someone in your life who
drives you a little crazy sometimes, maybe because they
remind you of parts of yourself that you don't like.

(03:40):
Can you see them as a good bad boy or a good bad girl?
Someone who's doing their best with the personality they've
got, the wounds they carry, the experiences they've had, the
love they're trying to express but may fumble.
This doesn't mean accepting harmful behavior.

(04:03):
It doesn't mean never setting boundaries.
It it means recognizing that we're all beautifully, messily
contradictory humans. We're sort of walking paradoxes,
right? You can be wise and foolish,
patient and react, reactive, generous and selfish, spiritual

(04:23):
and petty. We can be all of these things
not because we're broken, but because we're whole.
It's an expression of our full humanness.
Take a deep breath and let yourself feel relief for not
having to be perfect, or not having to eliminate every

(04:46):
quality you've been taught to see as bad.
You're a good, bad human, and that's not just OK, that's
beautiful. That's what makes us human.
Now, as you sit here, notice if there's a little more

(05:06):
spaciousness around those parts of yourself.
You may usually judge what wouldchange in your life if you could
hold your contradictions with this kind of gentle affection,
maybe even reverence. If you could be as patient with
yourself as you might be with a beloved pet who's just being

(05:30):
themselves. This doesn't mean giving up on
growth or becoming complacent. It means growing from a place of
self compassion rather than selfjudgement and berating yourself
all the time. Life's too short to do that.
Because here's what I've learned.
The parts of ourselves we fight don't disappear.

(05:54):
They just go underground and bury themselves and lash out
when we least want that to happen.
But the parts that we meet with kindness, they have room to
evolve and blossom. So as you move through your day

(06:16):
today, when you catch yourself being human in ways that you
wish you weren't, try this. Take a breath and say, there I
go, being a good bad human again.
And say it with affection, like you would to a a dear friend,

(06:37):
even when they're being impossible.
Because the truth is, you are someone you can love dearly.
All of you. Even the parts that scratch the
door and whine and cry. You're beautifully
contradictory, perfectly imperfect.

(06:58):
You're a good, bad human. And I wouldn't have it any other
way. Because that's exactly what the
world needs. Thank you for sharing this
practice. Good luck out there, I love you.