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I remember the days when my kindergarten class would all sit in a circle after lunch once a week. One by one, we would all go around and say why we appreciated a certain person or group of people. There were always really lame reasons that everyone would come up with on the spot. Most people were appreciated for being good at a certain game, or sharing a sand toy in the sandbox. They were never actual reasons to appreciate the person, more like their actions were appreciated.
But the idea and the gesture were great. I loved knowing that someone appreciated me for something, no matter how small it was. Sure, they were required to appreciate someone, but that someone didn't have to be me. We weren't assigned people to appreciate, we got to pick whoever we darn well pleased. I didn't have to be appreciated, but I was and it was such a nice feeling to know that I was doing something right.
Appreciation circles taught us to love and accept everyone. It didn't really seem like it at the time, but we were young and viewed those appreciation sessions after lunch as something that we were required to do. It was a job, and we had plenty of other jobs that needed to be done, and this one was just added to the list. But as I look back on it, I realize how wonderful those sessions were. They taught us that everyone needs to be appreciated, even if they act as if they don't.
Appreciation doesn't always have to be direct, either. You don't have to sit someone down, look them in the eye and launch in to a detailed account of why exactly you appreciate them. You don't even have to start out with, "I appreciate . . ." It can just be a simple thank you. A small thank you can mean so much to someone.
"Thank you," is taken for granted these days. It's the polite thing to say, and most people say it out of common courtesy. But have you ever not been thanked for your efforts, and realized how much those two little words really mean? It's amazing when you stop and think about it. Those two words make doing a favor for someone worthwhile. It's a habit I've gotten in to; always saying thank you. Even when my mother takes my sisters and I out to lunch, or buys us anything for that matter, we always say thank you. My mother knows that we appreciate everything she does for us, but she once told me that those small words mean a lot to her.
One of these days, you should go out and tell someone why you appreciate them. You never know, it could really mean a lot to them.
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