Today’s Mandala Message: Show Appreciation
This week I’m working through Principle #53 “Practice Uncommon Appreciation”. I set my intention today to ponder showing appreciation more. From an article by Sarah Kristenson on HappierHuman.com about gratitude vs appreciation, she states: “If you want to improve a relationship with anyone, show them appreciation. Appreciation is like fuel in a car. Life can be so hard depending on what season of life we are in, and many of us are giving our best effort in all we do. However, at times we are like a vehicle, running on fumes and need fuel before we can go any further. A simple acknowledgment of what a person adds to your life or organization can be the much-needed fuel to keep a person going strong.”
I do my best to show appreciation to those around me although I have a tendency to take the people closest to me for granted at times. This mandala reminds me to stop keeping it a secret and tell them that I appreciate them, that I’m grateful that they are in my life. Just now, I did a quick zip back in time to my childhood, and I realized that my parents were not ones to express appreciation, at least not verbally and not to me and my siblings; it was mostly implied. My mom would show it with her food, in particular her desserts. My dad would show it with money. While I appreciated both ways, I would have loved to have heard them tell me directly that they appreciated it me. I’m sure it’s because neither of them grew up in an environment where people shared their appreciation to them. And actually, it wasn’t until I was in therapy that I learned to appreciate both my mom and dad…even though it was rough going there for a while.
A good mindfulness practice would be to consider ways to show appreciation.
So how about you? How do you show appreciation to others? How do you like to be shown appreciation? Are there people in your life that would love to know that you appreciate them?
“The deepest principle
— Williams Jones
in human nature is
the craving
to be appreciated.”
Blessings,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
All Things Mandalas
An Invitation
I invite you to color along with me this year as part of what I’m calling “The Year of Self-Exploration and Expansion” with all of my “Mandalas of the ___” (day, week, month, year). If you’re interested in more of a self-exploration approach to coloring, check out my “Coloring Mandalas as Meditation”. You can download this mandala at MandalaoftheWeek.com.
Mandala of the Day 