Appreciation

Today I started this new practice that I hope will become a habit. I stopped just for a second, several times during the day, at random moments, and noticed something that was in my field of vision and just appreciated it. So many times during our day we are on cruise control. We do the same things, over and over, without giving them much thought. Especially in my job at the Post Office, I wait on customers, one right after the other, and I repeat this script that I have been taught to say. So today I decided that whenever the thought came to me I was going to stop, even if just for a moment, and appreciate the first thing that came into my field of vision when I had the thought. So I appreciated the printer that wouldn't print, the money in my hand as I counted it, the customer standing in front of me, my sore feet, the ring on my hand, my coworker standing beside me, the person who stole my magic marker, and I guess you get the idea. I learned a few things. One of the things I learned is that when I appreciate something that is annoying me, it seems to not annoy me as much anymore. The other thing I learned is that I could almost feel a change in the energy around me as I appreciated my surroundings. I could almost feel how tired my printer felt as I realized how many receipts it has printed out in its career and how few people appreciate it for what it does everyday without so much as a thank you from any of us "thinking" beings.

I would venture to suggest that a great deal of us go through our daily lives not paying attention to the people and things that surround us on a regular basis. We never stop to appreciate all the people and inanimate objects that serve us regularly. Sometimes we may think to thank the clerk at the grocery store, or the mail man, but how many of us appreciate the non- thinking objects that serve us every day? Today I attempted to connect with the energy in all things and thank each object that came into my awareness for the contribution that it was making to my life. I believe that everything benefits from love and appreciation. The people and situations that annoy us the most are probably the things that need the most love, and are also probably our greatest teachers.

This is my suggestion for today. Stop what you are doing, just for a moment. Look around you and focus on the first thing that comes into your field of vision. Appreciate it. Thank it for its contribution. Appreciate the things in your life you take for granted. Imagine what it would say if it could talk. Would it appreciate you back? What is your contribution to the energy around you? Are you a beacon of light and joy, making others feel better when you are around? Or not? And if not, what are you going to do about it?