Spreading Joy: An Appreciation Practice
What would it be like if there was more appreciation in this world?
Would life be sweeter? Would we all have more internal resources to persevere when things get difficult? Would we begin to train ourselves to see the goodness all around us?
YES!
After a particularly challenging week when I noticed a lack of appreciation on a variety of levels, I took it upon myself to do a little experiment – to see what things would be like for me and others if I, as Gandhi puts it, became “the change I want to see in this world”.
I went about sprinkling acknowledgment everywhere I went for a few days. Telling my daughter’s teacher how much we appreciate him, making eye contact and saying “thank you” to the barista making my latte (instead of fiddling with my phone), telling my family how much I appreciated their efforts around the house, telling my clients how much I enjoy working with them, telling my friends how lucky I was to have their friendship.
As the saying goes, “the gift is in the giving”. This appreciation practice, like a gratitude practice, enabled me to see the blessings all around me (which is super helpful in pulling out of a funk). And unlike a traditional gratitude practice it was rewarding to spread joy by telling others how much I appreciated them.
But how often do we actually go out of our way to acknowledge or appreciate the people around us? For me, it’s easy to slip into my busy mode and I simply forget. Or I think someone else must have told the person how awesome they are because it’s so obvious. I can come up with a million ways to rationalize and justify my old ways of being. But when I remind myself that acknowledging and appreciating others is a) free, b) takes barely any time, c) brightens their day, and d) makes my life sweeter, it’s hard to not do it!
And so, I invite you to try it out for a day or two. Acknowledge and appreciate your teammates, your manager, your clients, your family, your teachers, your neighbors, anyone you come into contact with. It might be a little awkward at first, but that’s ok. You are spreading joy in the world. Enjoy!
