The Power of APPRECIATION

The Power of PRECISE Appreciation and Gratitude. I love my early morning drives from southern Indian Land to Uptown Charlotte to teach my awesome yoga classes . It takes about 40 minutes (at 5am, so no traffic, woohoooo!) and I use the time to talk to the Divine, to set my intentions for the day and to go on Rampages of Appreciation. This morning it was deliciously foggy and soupy, and the lack of visibility gave me an opportunity to appreciate how circumstances in our lives can bring us into the present more fully. With the lack of visibility I was really forced to be present and focus (or take a little detour into a ditch, ha!). So rather than getting grumpy about the fog I found myself feeling playful and appreciative of it (this comes naturally now because I practice Appreciation every morning). I loved the way the fog hid the future of the road from me so that as I arrived in each new moment it was a surprise…and a surprise…and a surprise. The way it softened the edges of the beautiful trees and bushes along 521 and then along Park Road. The fact that *teeny tiny particles of water were floating, suspended in the air (huh…that’s a miracle in and of itself!) and the way the light from the lamp posts streamed through and bounced off of those teeny tiny particles. And then I started thinking about the fact that WE HAVE ELECTRICITY and how stinkin cool that is! So I rambled on about how amazing it is that we have currents of electricity that run into our houses and supply us with light and with heat and with the ability to cook yummy things and to watch fun TV shows and to light the road. And then I started thinking of all that goes into that incredibly intricate system and all the people that work diligently to bring that electricity to us. And then I started thinking about all the people who came before and the fact that the idea and execution of harnessing electricity to utilize it in useful ways started with just a few people who were willing to experiment and take risks and open up to possibilities. Wow! And on and on and on!

You can maybe possibly see how when you start with something simple and get *specific about what you Appreciate and Love and are Grateful for about it, you really get the juicy goodness from it. You can keep milking one little thing for all it’s worth. What you will find is that when you start your day with this deep, juicy Appreciation, your day flows more smoothly. You feel more at ease. Your interactions are pleasant. It sets the tone for your whole day! It may be a bit of a stretch to begin with and I do still have days now and again where I *just plain don't feel like being Appreciative...I feel like being grumpy. And that's okay too!

Take a look around you right now. Choose an object. It can be a pen. It can be a person. It can be your pet. What - *specifically* - do you Appreciate and Love about it or them? What *specifically* makes you Grateful for it or them? When you get Precise you really get the juiciness of this Practice. And you’ll start to do it not because it’s “spiritual” or the “right thing to do” or whatever. You’ll start doing it because it FEELS good. Because it sets the tone for your day. Because it reminds you of what a precious, amazing, incredible world we live in. And Practice it about yourself! What do you Love and Appreciate about yourself?

Have a beautiful day. It’s all so good. *contented sigh*