<\/p>\n
It takes a heap o\u2019 livin\u2019 in a house t\u2019 make it a home,
A heap o\u2019 sun an\u2019 shadder, an\u2019 ye sometimes have t\u2019 roam
Afore ye really \u2019preciate the things ye lef\u2019 behind,
An\u2019 hunger fer \u2019em somehow, with \u2019em allus on yer mind.
(Edgar Albert Guest)<\/p>\n
IT\u2019S SAD HOW LITTLE WE APPRECIATE SOME THINGS UNTIL WE\u2019VE EITHER LOST THEM OR LEFT THEM BEHIND. By deferring our appreciation until we\u2019ve been deprived, we miss out on much of the day-to-day enjoyment of appreciation. It would be so much better if we paid the price to gain a sense of gratitude right now.<\/p>\n
Appreciation is the last link in a chain that starts with the deliberate effort to count our blessings. It has never been said better than in the words of the old hymn: \u201cCount your many blessings, name them one by one.\u201d This means consciously and intentionally focusing our minds on the things we hold valuable. And though this sounds like a simple practice, it is no minor challenge in these busy days. We rarely have the time to leisurely and luxuriously reflect on each of the good things in our lives \u2014 but we need to take the time (and \u201cname them one by one\u201d). When we do, we\u2019ll be struck by how impoverished our lives would be if we didn\u2019t have these things, and that awareness then leads to the last link in the chain: appreciation. So remember the sequence: (1) meditation on our blessings, (2) awareness of their importance, and (3) appreciation of their value.<\/p>\n
Of all the things we ought to appreciate, of course, the greatest are the people around us. Psychologist William James famously wrote, \u201cThe deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.\u201d In our heart of hearts, we all know this saying contains a great insight. And if we know how much we appreciate being appreciated, that\u2019s all the more reason for us to go out of our way to appreciate others. They need it as much as we do.<\/p>\n
Disliking things is easy, isn\u2019t it? It requires little effort and little character. But finding worthy things to like and then fully appreciating them requires more of us. That being true, let\u2019s set ourselves a goal: let\u2019s aspire to be people defined by both the goodness of the things we love and the depth of our appreciation for each of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is not what a man can scorn, or disparage, or find fault with, but what can he love and value and appreciate\u201d (John Ruskin).<\/p>\n
Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n