“To love someone is to acknowledge the goodness of who they are. Through loving a person we awaken their awareness of their own innate goodness. It is as though they cannot know how worthy they are until they look into the mirror of our love and see themselves.” ― John Gray

Gratitude Gift Giving – Day 14 – Acknowledgment

This may mean different things to different people. I think it means Namaste – the good in me acknowledges the good in you. Or the light in me sees the light in you. And together we shine.

We are all seeking attention and acknowledgement, knowing that we are important and that we matter. We might seek this acknowledgement through different means, but we all want it and thrive from it. Isn’t that an amazing thought? Some people seek attention through the way they look, how fit they are, how much money they make, good grades, how religious they are, which degrees they’ve attained, their job title or position, how loud they can be, how controversial they can be and sometimes even seek negative attention. We all seek to be loved and to be seen and there are different paths to attain this sense of being and to be acknowledged. I believe this to be a universal truth. And our definitions and needs for acknowledgement change as we mature.

Here I am. There you are. Life is good. You are good. Never forget that.

Facebook and Instagram and blogs are just a few platforms that allow us to share small parts of who we are and allows others to see us, to acknowledge us, to like us and to confirm our being. It’s a form of knowledge sharing, and sharing usually the good parts or the highlights of our lives and what we are passionate about. It’s a form of connection. We get to share who we are with our friends and family and we wait to see if they like what we shared or have something to add to the conversation. I love this process. And I love being inspired by others and learning how others are celebrating their days. I’m genuinely curious and grateful that people chose to share and connect.

It’s very easy to positively acknowledge others and spread joy. Click like on someone’s posts. Smile at the person in line near you. Genuinely compliment someone and feel the love that returns and know that you’ve pleased someone. Acknowledge others and they will acknowledge you. We can be the change we want to see in the world and it doesn’t cost a penny.

Today I told the lady at Costco that was sampling laundry detergent that I liked her voice. I liked that she was passionate about the qualities of laundry detergent and it sounded like she was singing it’s praises. I was strangely entertained by her voice while walking up and down the aisle. I didn’t buy the detergent, but I liked that she was enjoying her job and for some reason as I passed by her display, I felt like I should tell her. You should have seen her face and her body language when I did. She was genuinely touched and happy and told me that I made her day. Who would have thought? We both smiled.

My son likes to make noise constantly. I have a feeling that he actually wants to be acknowledged, so that we know he is there. For some reason it seems like if he’s quiet, that we don’t see him. I’m trying to acknowledge his presence in other positive ways and hoping that this habit changes soon, but I keep reacting to his incessant noises and giving him negative attention and the bad habit continues. I guess I’m still learning!

Sometimes I decide to play this game where I chose to love everyone I see. This sounds really weird, but it changes my perspective with the people that I encounter and I’m always amazed at the friendly, personal interactions that occur. For example, instead of being irritated with lousy customer service, I chose to think of the person serving me with love instead of with anger. I find something in common to share, or find something to compliment and try to create a connection versus a disconnect. I’m always pleasantly surprised how my attitude changes and the other person’s does too and everything is better.

I do this with smiles too. I smile at everyone, even the people that never smile back. And once in awhile, they can’t help but crack a smile too, which makes me happy. I have a neighbor like this. She never smiles. She always stares at me, but never smiles. And usually I stare back because that’s what she does and she doesn’t typically return a smile when I smile at her. A couple weeks ago, I was riding my bike past her house and she was staring at me again. I chose to sincerely smile at her and wave, because it feels different when you pass someone from a bicycle than when you’re slowly walking by, and believe it or not, she smiled back. Success! I wonder if she’s happy. Maybe for a moment she was.

Anyway, thank you for reading and sharing this wonderful life journey together, wherever you are. Consider yourself hugged and acknowledged!! Namaste.

This beautiful view is from Washington Park in Sunnyvale. Breathtaking, isn’t it?

ee is in Washington Park in Sunnyvale. Just simply breathtaking, isn’t it?