UPDATE, RENEWAL and DEDICATION – April 21, 2013
Appreciation Chronicles is a 52-week personal project, launched January 1, 2012. (Updated: It’s now March 2013… I haven’t posted as often as I might, but the project feels successful to me, so I’ve given it semi-permanent status).
This year marks my 60th birthday. Such milestones trigger a range of thought… at least for me. If things go well, in the coming years, I project I’ve lived three-quarters of my life or two-thirds of my adult life, take your pick.
Either view has given me pause, both to look back, in appreciation, and to look forward, at what may lie ahead.
About ten years ago, I developed a presentation, titled, “The Miracle of Appreciation.” In that presentation, I spoke about appreciation from several points of view.
- Appreciation, as it relates to being thankful for one’s situation in the world. As in, enjoying your work or business, relationships, good fortune, good health, and all that surrounds you.
- Appreciation of people in your life. Friends, business associates, and those who play various roles in one’s world, at different time frames.
- Accepting and giving appreciation. How often do we receive a compliment and thoughtlessly dismiss it, as: “Oh, it was nothing,” or “I was just doing my job.” I also have observed that while I may feel terrific about receiving a positive acknowledgment, I sometimes fail to let that person know how much their kindness meant to me.
THE HERE AND NOW: The essence and purpose of these daily appreciation chronicles is to remember, both inwardly and outwardly, the many aspects of my life that I should feel good about. People, places, music, and experiences. I expect the list will evolve during the year.
Rather than just keep a personal journal I’m writing my thoughts in a blog. It’s one way of monitoring the goal and commitment to stay on track with this project.
If you’ve come across this site, in some random fashion, perhaps you have may have some love and appreciation that has not been fully expressed, yet. Maybe a mentor to be thanked or friend, whose kindness has been taken for granted. There may be parallels of my world and yours, through some of the posts. Perhaps a story inspires you to reach out to someone, or reminds you of a transformational personal experience.
I have any number of expressions of appreciation, thanks, and requests for forgiveness to fill these pages. Many of my public expressions are accompanied, separately, by private ones.
Thanks for visiting, and if you are the least bit inspired to take action of your own, please feel free to share it, through comments on this blog, or email me, privately. AndyEbon@AndyEbon.com
Even better, share a little sunshine with others, and it may reflect on you.
Andy Ebon
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