A friend once joked with me after I said once again, “Oh this is my favorite” for the umpteenth time that everything was my favorite! While that was a bit of exaggeration, I do have a habit of saying, “This is my favorite,” way more often that I realized. My favorite season is the one I’m in. My favorite foods are often the ones I’m eating that day. My favorite plant in the garden is the one I’m admiring in the moment. I have a gazillion favorite songs, many favorite colors, and more favorite places than I could count. Perhaps dealing with death every day in my work makes me appreciate so many of life’s little magic moments.
Many times when I’m talking to someone in spirit they’ll share a simple moment from their life on earth that was of great importance to their soul.One sweet mother in spirit showed me a picture of a pink grapefruit half in a china teacup. Her daughter, to whom I was talking, told me this was her mother’s breakfast every morning. After death, mom realized that the love and appreciation she felt every morning for this beautiful fruit in this beautiful tea cup, inspired such a magnificent vibration of appreciation, love, and joy that she set out into her day emanating good feelings and love for life. Her daughter confirmed that all who met her felt uplifted by her positive, cheerful attitude. Something so simple, when blessed by appreciation, became so impactful.
It is very human to wait for the bigger things in life to appear before we’ll let ourselves be happy, but as the angels like to say, “Simple pleasures are life’s treasures,” or stated differently, our appreciation for the simple pleasures opens us up to life’s greater treasures.
Moments of appreciation have changed my life. Years ago I was having a tough month. I had more home repairs than I could juggle, people were being uppity or not calling me back, and I was exhausted. I prayed for a shift in attitude. As I was praying, I wandered without thinking into the yard and over to the one rose that was blooming that day. Still praying, I leaned over, without thought, to smell the rose.
Its perfumed expanded into my lungs. Its sweetness soothed my soul. Its softness against my face reminded me that life still had tenderness to offer. In that instant I became aware of all that was good, beautiful, and true in my life. I appreciated the scent, the texture of the petals, the beauty of that one radiant flower growing amidst thorns. I felt the angels remind me that I could bloom amidst thorns too. In that one moment of appreciation and grace, everything changed within me. Of course, the external world starters to mirror my new vibration immediately. Repair folks called me back within hours. I felt compassion for the ones who had been uppity. New energy flooded my body. It only took a few seconds to recalibrate to a higher vibe and a happier life.
One moment of true appreciation is a moment of pure connection to the Source of all life, whose presence can be most easily felt in these moments of love.
When we’re faced with challenges we all strive to “fix” things in the outer world. We agonize over what “to do,” when in truth the easiest solutions are presented when focus on who we want “to be” – a person in connection with the Source of all answers, all love, all solutions, all grace, ease, joy, and the essence of everything you’ve ever wanted in your life. Happily this connection is more easily found than we might imagine. One pure moment of appreciation can plug you in.
Here are a few pointers to help you bask in the glow of appreciation..
1. Start in bed
The moment you wake up, train yourself to find at least three things to appreciate before you even move. It can be anything, but it must be genuine. Perhaps you love the warm covers or soft sheets. Perhaps you can think of someone who is a blessing in your life. Inhale deeply and appreciate your breath. Appreciate another day of life. Appreciate your partner or your pet. Anything you can genuinely appreciate, no matter how small, will elevate your vibe. See if you can expand that feeling of appreciation within you.
2. Actively Appreciate throughout the day
Start to look at the things you use every day. Appreciate them. Love your dishes, your silverware, your breakfast, the water flowing from your sink, your coat, electricity, cars, you name it. Anytime you think of it, stop and look for something to genuinely appreciate. Take a few seconds thinking about why you love a person, place, object, or situation. Bask in the feeling and expanding it outward.
3. Appreciate Yourself
This exercise may be challenging if you were raised not to “toot your own horn” or if you fear being “egotistical.” It may take some willpower if you weren’t validated or affirmed as a child. Nonetheless, you can do it! It just takes practice. Remind yourself that true self-appreciation is an acknowledgment of the Divine spark within. When you appreciate the good in you, you are appreciating the God in you.
Before going to sleep, think of at least three things that you appreciate about yourself. Perhaps you were kind to someone. Maybe you let someone get in front of you in traffic. Maybe you breathed with patience, and avoided a retort when someone tried was unpleasant. Maybe you prayed for someone you don’t even know. Maybe you’re a good cook, a great parent, a lover of animals, a great mechanic, or one of a million other things you could be good at.
After a while you can learn to appreciate many things about yourself. Do this little exercise of self-love and appreciation right before sleep and you’ll set the tone for a better night and a kinder morning.
Sometimes it seems tough to find a higher vibe when the external world is putting out loud low vibrations, but it is not nearly as hard as we think.
We simply have to train ourselves to find one small thing to appreciate, and with that genuine, loving focus, we tune ourselves into the highest vibration of all and the Source of all Love, assistance, grace, guidance, and goodness.
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