Appreciation – the most important habit.
There are five easy ways to play the appreciation game.
First, appreciate the life you have. Whatever it is, right here, right now, you have a life worth living. You are here because of your infinite wisdom and this is the life that is yours. When we look at our lives with love, love is returned. When we look appreciatively at ourselves, that is returned. It’s a direct shot from us to us.
Second, appreciate yourself. Start small. Can you smile? Have to. Make a list of the wonderful things you can do. Review what you have done every day. Have you picked up something on the street and thrown it away? Have you smiled at someone? Have you appreciated your dog, your cat, your child, your spouse, your friend? Do you love everything you call your own? Why not? They are a gift, from you to you.
Third, appreciate what is outside of you, what you see, feel, touch. All the music, books, and movies you can access, all for free if you need it. Do you know that other countries don’t necessarily have libraries and conferences, old movies for their citizens for free? What great opportunities we have for personal development, enrichment and entertainment. Every municipality in this country offers excellent excursions at little or no cost to worlds beyond our immediate borders.
Which leads directly to #four, which is appreciating other people. People who share with us their knowledge and skills, their enthusiasm and enthusiasm. Slideshows, books, readings, dances, theater – the list is endless. There are people all around us picking up litter, rescuing wildlife, reading to children in schools, recording books on tape for people who have trouble with the written word. There are millions of great stories among us that never make the nightly news. People who are great neighbors and friends, lovers who are kind, husbands who are not indifferent, friends who are true. Warning! Look at them. Pay attention to what is right under your nose. Do not walk next to another person without smiling, unless you are in a dangerous place, you know where you are and what is the correct action to take.
Fifth, take this opportunity to team up with those around you. Once you start smiling, you will find people attracted to you, you will start to see how they look like you, how you fit in with them. You have to make an attempt to know them: if you still feel that you are good and that they are idiots, you are not listening to “them”, you are not seeing them. If you really see people for who they are, you’ll see things in common and, in a fun twist, you’ll see your own uniqueness. The more we focus on our feelings, motivations, the truth in us, the more we feel connected to those around us.
So, take a leap of faith. Be nice. Be generous. Start here, now, with the most important person you know: YOU!