Appreciation and the Theory of Relativity

I recently attended a discourse on appreciation.

 Ironically, I appreciated what I learned.

But all puns aside, what was said strongly resonated with me.

Here's the illustration given:

In a particular third world country (no specific one was mentioned) a person's social status is very dependant on what they own. In fact, the possession of a radio can instantly qualify that person for marriage.

In that country was a young man who had nothing, and by nothing I meant quite literally nothing. How was he ever to be married? One day he received a package. He took the package home and opened it. It was a radio! Not just ANY radio, a FM transistor radio! His heart overflowed with joy and appreciation. He could get married now! Imagine how moved he was by this thoughtful gift. Can you feel it?

Now imagine you receive a package. With excitement you bring it home and open it. It’s a radio. Not just ANY radio, a FM transistor radio! What do you suppose your heart fills with: joy and appreciation? Probably not. Where’s your iPod? You didn’t even know they still MADE transistor radios. Who would send such a gift? Can you imagine how you would feel at that moment? Disappointed, most likely. Possibly you are even a little insulted.

Yet…

It’s the same FM transistor radio. The same “Made In China” radio in each case evoked a completely different response.

Why?

Einstein had it right: Everything is Relative.

We complain about the cost of living, the size of our apartment/condo/house, our jobs, our friends, our families.

Yet there are over 2.5 Billion people living on less than 2 dollars a day. Buy an extra large coffee and you’ve spent a day’s wage. That would be like the average person in the U.S. spending $100 on a cup of coffee. Makes Starbucks seem cheap all of a sudden doesn’t it? Speaking of which, buy a couple of venti caramel macchiatos there and you spent almost a week’s wages. Can you imagine spending 4 figures on couple of drinks? That’s what it would look like to someone in different circumstances.

So what am I getting at?

Take time each day to appreciate what we have. We really have so much.

A scientific study was done where 30 people wrote down something they appreciated about each day for 30 days. At the end of that time, their health, stress levels and general outlook on life had substantially improved.

And they didn’t even DO anything about their appreciation; they just thought about it and wrote it down. So what about you? Do you have an “Appreciation Journal”? No? Try it for a month. See what happens. Every night, before you go to bed, write down one thing you appreciated that day. You’ll be amazed.

But it gets better.

What if you not only thought about it, wrote it down, but then SHOWED it?

Now we’re getting into some powerful results.

When you SHOW your appreciation, it is astounding how much appreciation you get back. It’s mind boggling at what positive results you start getting in every aspect of life.

So how do you show your appreciation?

Here’s an example:

A parent buys their child a bicycle.

The child says “Thank you”. That’s appreciation, right?

Wrong. That’s good manners, which is a whole other topic.

Despite saying “thank you”, if the child leaves the bike in the driveway, runs it through the mud, leaves it in the rain, crashes it into things, and so on, does the parent feel appreciated?

What if instead, the child puts the bike away each night, oils the chain and checks the tire pressure regularly? What if the child uses the bike to go out and get paper route and then uses the money to buy their parent a gift? Would that be showing appreciation?

I think everyone one us get gifts for which we should show appreciation, and I’m not necessarily talking about the ones that come in a box.

So the next time we ponder that for which we are appreciative, take a moment to also ponder how to show that appreciation.

You’ll be a lot happier for it.

Live well.

Kirk Brownridge
http://secret.freedom-abetterway.com