'Take me as I am'.
Why?
Because I believe that I am changing constantly. I am not even the same person I was in the moment that has just passed.
Take me as I am smacks of smugness. That is death.
Of course things are not going to be the same - people around me are changing, circumstances are changing, words swirling around me are changing... Hanging on to what I know as the Absolute would only be splintering. Further, I may read something, or view something which will cause questions to rise and which may make me question my hitherto-held beliefs and opinions and ideas and views and I may want to make changes in them. I may want to discard some old strong beliefs or opinions or views in favor of new beliefs/opinions/views....I have to allow myself the freedom to do this.
Take me as I am would make me a dinosaur in no time flat. I would become the odd man out in a world that is changing by the nanosecond.
How I am in a moment determines how I am going to be in the next moment, so if I don't like what I am in this moment, I have the time to quickly effect a change so that the next moment will be different - it may be better which would be good, but it may well be not-so-good which will spur me on to find out how I can change and make things better. As Oprah Winfrey says, 'There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.'
Take me as I am is hugely arrogant. It is as if I am the only one who matters in the world.
The fact is that I may be wrong in a whole lot of areas of life.....I may be a total disaster in many areas of living... and if I don't do something about this and change myself, I may be left with huge holes in my heart and many sorrows and regrets to deal with. I may not be able to do this, in which case I would only end up bitter and hurtful to those around me.
Take me as I am is isolating. I may well find myself alone.
We have to recognize that we are living among all kinds of people. But, all these people - everyone - are sparks from that One God...One Supreme Power...Universal Consciousness. And even if we may question this and not want to believe in this, we still have no right to hurt anyone. If we don't want to have anything to do with a person who is very different from us, we need to respect that difference and walk away without causing any friction. If we value a relationship, then the onus is on us too, to enrich it as best as we can.
Take me as I am is a very demanding statement. It is eliminating the human factor in other persons and recognizing only my own.
Why would I want to take you as you are when you are not willing to take me as I am? And so, just as I respect that I am constantly changing - and trying to change for the better (not an easy task) - I would expect to be respected for who I am...
I should not take me as I am....I should strive to be better than who I am... I should use all my conversations, my readings, my meditations to be better than who I am...