Acknowledging Acknowledgement

We hear a lot of talk about the importance of gratitude. We were taught as kids that saying thank you is important and we learn as we get older the significance of expressing your appreciation for an act of kindness or generosity.

So personally, I make it a point to say thank you for all the little things I appreciate. From the policeman who stops traffic as I cross the street, to the friends who are unselfishly and wholeheartedly there for you even when you don't think you need them.

But this post isn't about saying thanks, it's about going beyond gratitude.

I've realized that at times, saying "thank you" is a little bit more difficult than originally anticipated. That's why I've come to realize that saying "you're welcome", reciprocating or acknowledging the acknowledgment is important too.

The genuine expression of appreciation and gratitude isn't so easy to come by now a day. While saying "thank you", should come with no expectations, it's always nice to let the person who is thanking you know that you appreciate the effort they made to appreciate you, even by simply acknowledging it.

Ok.. musing aside, I think I just drove myself nuts by trying to quickly express and thus consistently repeating words like.. gratitude, appreciation, acknowledgment. Gah.

Colored Pencil

During rehearsals today, I noticed Ate Staly using one of those colored pencils that instead of having single colored lead, had instead a pinwheel of rainbow colors. Back in the day, I probably had a few of those pencils at several points in my life. It also reminded me of this really random "multiple-colored-face-paint-in-one-crayon" crayon that I found in NB recently, where in one crayon it had stripes of different colors as well. I was so tempted to buy it, tear it open, run to the nearest bathroom and draw a line down.. heck.. i dunno, my arm.. just so i could see the stripes of color transfer and adhere itself onto my skin.

Anyway.. drawn to colors, I had to compliment Ate Sta on it. She then gave it to me! Flabergasted as I was.. I accepted. I was so giddy the rest of the rehearsal.. I kept thinking of what to doodle on my music pieces. Ironically, couldn't think of anything to doodle for my new possesesion's virgin voyage.

Thanks Ate Sta! You made my day :)