The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Christmas is officially around the corner and what a year it has been! While November had it's moment, the first week in December would have been enough to fell a mightier being than me. For the second time this year, both my father and brother were in hospital at the same time for surgery. A few days later our much loved elderly Staffie x Labrador, Lalley, died of natural causes. For someone like me with an hereditary capacity for worry, there was plenty of fodder to feed the fires of unhappiness. And worry I did!
In the midst of the drama, I noticed something interesting. My dad and brother were fine, in fact there was good news for both of them but in the sadness of Lalley's illness and death, I was unable to appreciate anything good. Worry became the blanket feeling underlying everything I was experiencing.
The truth is, worry has a rather dubious relationship with reality. It can and does feel like a productive problem solving exercise, but it often turns out to be a surreptitious avoidance of uncertainty. Ultimately worry is fear-based and indulging in it leaves little room for more helpful ways of approaching the difficulties we face. So I decided to do it differently. Instead of looping around endlessly circling, worried thoughts, I made a concerted effort to practise appreciation.
Worry is a tricky adversary and for my purposes, appreciation has a slightly different flavour to gratitude. Appreciation is 'of' something while gratitude is 'for' or “to'. The moment I feel grateful for something, worry has the potential to cloud it by creating doubt about the future continuation of whatever I am grateful for. Appreciation, however, is more present moment focused. It reminds me of the goodness here and now, of the little things that matter.
Appreciation is how we acknowledge and value our experiences. Whether it's an act of kindness, a moment of awareness or an expression of a heartfelt emotion, appreciation has the power fill your spirit with joy and strengthen your resolve to keep on going.
On that note, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to you all for the support you have given me during 2015. Thank you for reading my blog posts, for taking the time to comment and connect with me by email and for those who did, thank you for signing up for Life Coaching and Numerology.
I wish you all a festive season filled with love, laughter and happiness. Please follow the link to Soul Sense Coaching's Facebook page and join me in 100 days of Appreciation.