Values of the week — Appreciation
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” Voltaire
This week I was having a catch-up session on zoom with my friend Phil Clothier, who works for the Barrett Values Centre. We hadn’t chatted for some time, although we had recently worked together professionally as part of the V20 group, which has been thinking about how values can help the G20 Summit in Saudi achieve its development goals.
During our conversation, in talking about my passion for transformational power of values, I shared with Phil my realisation that I am not perfect and, like all other mortals, am on a journey of self-improvement. I always avoid giving the impression that because I talk about values such as respect, compassion, integrity, justice and peace that I am the perfect role model for them. The older I get the more I realise that I have to constantly work internally on aspects of me that stop me from being the values model that I aspire to be.
After our conversation Phil posted a photo of me on social media, with the caption quoting me as saying, “I am on a journey and I’m doing my best”. I was deeply moved by his appreciation of me but knowing Phil’s wonderful qualities I had to respond to him by saying, “What we see in others is often an aspect of ourselves”. I believe what he was seeing in me is a reflection of his deep humanity and ability to see the good in others.
Appreciation is the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone and being thankful for them. May I invite you to pause, think about and then appreciate your own qualities. Also, let someone else know how much you appreciate them and why. Expressing your appreciation for someone shows your gratitude and recognition of their qualities as a human being. You will be amazed at the response you will receive as someone realises that they have really been seen by you.
