Appreciation

“If I’m in Rome, I have absolutely no control over home. So, I have the choice to not depreciate Rome and appreciate home, when Rome is where I am.” – Dr. Wayne W Dyer

This thought-provoking statement is relevant to most of us living away from home. If we are to appreciate our daily lives, the above words sum it all up. They bring to our attention two very valuable insights: the awareness of where we are at the present moment, and the attitude with which we choose to perceive that – whether by choosing to appreciate it, or not. It is a choice of either living the present moment with reverence or, as Dr. Dyer wonders, about our choice of ‘using up the present moment of our lives, the very precious currency of life, consumed with longing to be someplace else?’

As much as an attitude of appreciation bring a blissful state of mind, it can also be quite a challenge. Consistently perceiving ourselves and our lives with appreciation and reverence requires a genuine awareness of the depreciation with which we portray the present. If we consider our thoughts about what’s going on in our life and what we have or do not have, we might notice that most of the time we’re trapped either with past fears and/or future worries and anticipations. Consistently having an attitude of appreciation is easier said than done. We understand why we should appreciate our lives, but we find it hard to put into practice. Why is that? Why do we feel that we’re not good enough? Why is it that, with each step we move forward, our sense of satisfaction and fulfilment becomes less?

What’s holding you back?

One of the reasons could be that when we assess our assets, achievements and successes, we compare ourselves, usually unfavorably, with a rigid standard of what we feel ‘should be’. We look at the general criteria that we believe define success and achievement, focusing our attention on what we’re lacking or what we think we should be and/or have, rather than on what we are or already have. We gradually become prisoners of a standard end-result that is supposed to fit all. Our eyes are focused on a time yet to come, or a status yet to be, or a gain yet to have- forgetting all that dwells in the present.

How to be appreciative 

We need to count our blessings on a daily basis. We need to feel good about who we are and how far we have come - and it takes discipline and consistency to do this. It's a long walk, but very achievable and extremely rewarding. We may resist  this attitude, as we think that the feeling of discontent is our driving force towards more, higher or better achievements. Many of us tend to think that relaxing into a state of appreciation might hinder us from further gains or achieving greater heights.

"Wants and desires ran my life. They were something out there that I was trying to get in order to feel happy and satisfied. When I had a want, I believed I had to be unhappy with the current situation in order to motivate myself to change. I did not want to be stuck or unmotivated, so I created a lot of unhappiness. The problem was, having wants was becoming so painful that I began to give up my dreams. They no longer seemed worth wanting. Of course, I wasn't happy about giving up my dreams either. I was stuck." John Sauvage's account of his experience before he could free his attention "to be in the present moment to create, appreciate and fully experience life," invites us to reflect on  and reconsider our own experience.

Appreciation in essence is steering our attention and intentions towards thoughts of availability and abundance, rather than on being fixated on thoughts of lack and attack.