Appreciation Versus Gratitude & A New Attitude
I originally wrote this article on April 23, 2015.
Gratitude and Appreciation: is there a difference? I have listened to an Esther Hicks clip about this topic. And I really can feel the difference. I shall paraphrase what she said:
Gratitude is being thankful that we’ve overcome some sort of obstacle, some sort of struggle; while feeling grateful for that, we are still focusing on the struggle. It’s a motivation to try to make ourselves go somewhere.
Appreciation is ‘to increase the value of.’ It is seeing the love and flow in all we look at–and being drawn to go with that flow. It’s being inspired and in sync with the power which we are. ‘Look for the thing you like the best…give it your undivided attention.’
Now that this distinction has been made, I want to share how feeling appreciation is creating a new attitude within me.
I have done so much intentional healing and growth in my lifetime. So much so that I feel I have very little to heal from, and I’m mostly down to just being curious about myself, my life, my loved ones. It’s a wonderful place to be in life. I’m glad I’m not using up anymore of my precious life in despair and misery.
Even so, I have felt there was another layer for me to deal with. Just like wearing an itchy sweater, I knew I needed to address it sooner than later in order for life to feel even better. But I have learned in my growing process that Life will show me what I need to work on next: I don’t need to struggle to find it.
I just finished the book called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. Some of the author’s tips might seem silly–especially her implying that inanimate objects have thoughts and feelings. She talks to homes (both her own and her clients’), her clothing and other items. But the thing is, she talks with appreciation.
And that is where I don’t think Marie Kondo is so odd. When we experience appreciation, life flows. Life feels good. And even inanimate objects seem to be on our side. Verbalizing, or even intentionally thinking, words of appreciation is the easiest way to generate an energy of appreciation. It makes perfect sense.
So, between Maria Kondo’s book and listening to Esther Hicks, I finally decided a few days ago to start generating a feeling of appreciation. I realized this might be what I was missing, what was giving me the ‘itchy sweater’ feeling.
A few days ago, when I got home, I walked around my home admiring it and feeling appreciation for how wonderful it felt to be in it, and thanked it for providing shelter for my kids and me. I felt appreciation as I looked at the items I selectively chose to have in my home. Before going to sleep, I thanked my body for getting me around and for being healthy and strong. Before getting out of bed, I thanked time for starting a brand-new day and appreciated all that would unfold in the day. While walking to my car, I smiled at it and felt excited to get inside of it. I patted its dashboard and said, ‘Thank you for running so well, and transporting my kids and me to wherever we want to go.’ I felt appreciation for my close friend who is so patient and appreciates pretty much anything and everything.
Wouldn’t you know it, my days have been going so smoothly. The typical irritating things about my weekend job sort of faded into the background. I’m only noticing and responding to good-energy. Tasks feel effortless. I catch myself before I say something snippy to my close friend. And for the first time in weeks, my car didn’t stall out when I started it up.
Yes, intentional and frequent appreciation is the answer I was looking for.
Warmly,