A YEAR OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT
In the spirit of fun, I would like to begin a new tradition. Most often I share words to guide you to greater understanding. Today, I would like to share a course of actions. It is just as important to take actions in the world, as it is to awaken to the spirit within. Spirituality and expansion are actions. They only appear to be inactive. In light of this, I am reversing the focus of this message to extend outward into actions.
I declare this year "Acknowledgment Year." I ask that each of you acknowledge everything and everyone around you for a full year.
Acknowledgment is an affirmation and a confirmation. It is an extension of gratitude and appreciation. It is a stance and an action in the world, that genuinely gives another person the grace of their own being. It is generous. It is compassionate. It is truth. Acknowledgment reaches beyond thought and assessment and moves into communion and recognition. It is a shared moment that goes beyond the functional and expands relatedness.
PRACTICING ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This practice requires that you notice the people and circumstances that surround you. You have to notice what people are doing in order to acknowledge them. You have to see how they are participating, what they are striving for, how they are being and what the results impart. You have to move beyond the quiet or reserved nature of your own self, and give something away, truly and freely. This is a spiritual practice. This is participation in spiritual flow.
Acknowledgment is an action that is often missing in life. It happens, yet infrequently. Many of you know what it feels like to do good things and receive little or no recognition for them. You feel small. You feel unappreciated or worse. These feelings extend into your life. They can generate sadness or anger or hopelessness and more. When you do not feel recognition, life appears to give little joy for your contributions. Yet, when you are acknowledged, when your contribution is affirmed, you feel good, you feel rewarded and inspired.
CLAIM THIS YEAR
This year, I ask that you put Acknowledgment into practice. Every person that you encounter has some gift or has done something that is good and remarkable - it deserves a remark. The supermarket check out person, has rung your items and helped to you to eat by doing so. Your co-workers have helped you to do your work. Your employer provides you with the opportunities to contribute to the world and to your family. Your family extends their love and hopes to you. These are simple things that go unspoken. They are seldom acknowledged. This is the year to acknowledge it all.
Acknowledgment is an act of appreciation and gratitude for something real and true. It affirms a person"s gifts and actions. It confirms their life. It is not a fabricated compliment to ease your own way or participate politely. It is a genuine recognition of being. It may be stated as a simple "thank you," but it is more, in its true sense. It gives someone the true reflection of their life as a contribution to you and to others. When you truly acknowledge another, you recognize their contribution, their way of being, their gifts and you give that gift back to them in an expanded way. You give them the gift of their own being and create relatedness and appreciation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT IN THE MOMENT
To put this into practice, you must pause. To practice Acknowledgment, you must take a moment to reflect and then to speak or act. After the conversation, you need one more moment, to appreciate what happened or was said, and acknowledge it. After the situation, you need a little more time to say, "Thank you. You have such a gift for.... or ... you really helped me ... or ...you"re so good at ... or ... I love the way you ..."
ACKNOWLEDGMENT IN REFLECTION
Sometimes, the opportunity to extend appreciation and validation comes after the situation has passed. You may have missed the opportunity or it may not have been appropriate at the moment. This situation also asks that you pause, and extend your affirmation and confirmation, later. You may need to make a telephone call or send a note or speak up at a more private time. You may also find that considerable time has passed, and upon reflection, you want to thank someone. DO IT. Write a letter to your teachers or former employer or those who have blessed and uplifted your life in any way.
Declare this year as Acknowledgment Year. Share this message with your family and friends. When you acknowledge each other, you acknowledge the Divine. And the Goddess smiles.
I Acknowledge you, dear one, as a force for revelation, blessing and harmony.
Lumari
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