The Experts Weigh In: The Art of Appreciation

Image via meandhimblog.com

BY: MEAGHAN FOLK, CONTRIBUTOR

This is a quick course in appreciation for YOU. That's right, YOU! Because frankly, I know you deserve to feel appreciated for all you do, for all of the hard work you put into helping others at home and in your life.

            

We all love to feel appreciated - to feel good and to feel worthy. One day in your past, the shower of love and appreciation just stopped. You kept moving forward, but something was absent. This happened sometime during your childhood, at just the point when you were getting used to being showered with praise for just going to the bathroom or tying your shoe. Suddenly the praise started to dwindle. Maybe you acquired a sibling or maybe your parents went through a divorce or maybe you just got older... it's really hard to say.

            

But this is when the walls started to rise. There was this consistent flow of love, and then, out of nowhere, it started to dry up, leaving you confused. You grew older and you developed a way to protect you heart.

When we start to protect our hearts from pain, fear, and disappointment, we only limit the love we can feel.

            

Love is overwhelming and radiant. Love comes from within, I promise you this! Before I sat down to write this love letter to you, I had this revelation - that I am just a spirit having a human experience. Maybe you've heard this before.  Maybe it resonated with you, maybe it didn't. For me, however, I am completely certain of it, and this is why...

·        Our bodies are gifts from the divine... the universe... whatever you believe.

·        Our bodies allow us to touch, smell, taste, feel, kiss and make love.

·        Our bodies allow us to breathe the gifts from the trees, the sweet oxygen that keeps us alive.

·        Our bodies allow us to physically convey our own radiance.

Image via crowsfeetcupcakesandcellulite.com

You see, you are radiant from the inside out. Your love is what makes you glow, what makes you feel like you. Have you ever had one of those days where you just felt great? You felt radiant and beautiful like nothing could stop you. Were you kind to others on that day? Did you share your love with others?

It is so often when we are authentically sharing our love that we feel best. I love to tell strangers, "Wow, you look beautiful today!". Saying these things allows me to fill their cup and brighten their day, while also allowing me to feel unconditionally loved.

This is the art of appreciation.

I want you to sit down and think about when you feel the greatest. Is it when your husband praises you for how gorgeous you are? When your boss tells you what a great job you did? When you ran a mile in 7 minutes and your best time was 8? Think hard about when you feel the best. When you are feeling down come back to these moments of greatness and truly feel them. Remember how blessed and abundant you really are.

Now look around. Are there people around you whom you love? Strangers that need a bright spot in their day?  Pick one of these people and call them up. Ready? Now I want you to complement them. That's it! It's that easy!

“Mom, you are a fantastic woman, I feel genuinely blessed to be your daughter. You have taught me how to ________,” or “Hi there (stranger), can I just say, you have the most radiant smile?” (I know, it sounds like a bad pick-up line, but I promise you will feel great and they will appreciate it).

Start to treat others in the same way you want to be treated. Scratch that... treat them better than you want to be treated. Tell them you love them. Tell them how wonderful they are. Tap into your inner cheerleader and start cheering on the masses. Tell them how beautiful they are. Tell them how smart they are. Wrap them in love.

So here goes... a message from me to you...

I love you, you are beautiful and I appreciate all that you do. I know you work hard and sometimes you think that no one cares. I promise you they do. You are radiant, and you change the lives of others every day that you are authentically "you". Be yourself and love without boundaries.

Do you want to feel appreciated for all that you do? It's as simple as telling someone else how great they are.

"Forget yesterday - it has already forgotten you.
 Don't sweat tomorrow - you haven't even met.
 Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift - today."
 -Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

All my love,

Meaghan Folk

Meaghan Folk is a born-and-raised New Yorker turned small town mountain woman. She currently resides in North Lake Tahoe with her wonderful man Christian and her beautiful daughter Izabella. Meaghan is a holistic health and lifestyle coach who helps mothers become rock star moms who feel irresistibly radiant. She works with busy professional mothers to create more peace and rhythm in their daily lives, as well as rev up their personal love lives. Visit her at meaghanfolk.com (with Irresistibleproject.com coming soon!) OR try an exploratory session with her by clicking HERE!