Appreciation

The sun rose and set today in twelve hours.

We plucked golden pears from arching branches.

Climbing a thousand steps to a rustic temple,

We made our offerings to the gods.

At nightfall, we sat in warm companionship.

A crescent moon joined our circle.

Dipping water from the silver-braided stream,

We set it bubbling in an earth ware pot.

It's not easy to brew good tea,

But this teapot has a venerable history:

A scholar once pawned all his books for it.

Now it imparts the flavor of antiquity.

Autumn equinox is the time to reflect upon life. If we have enjoyed a bountiful harvest, we express our thanks. If the year has been difficult so far, then we are happy for what we do have and resolve to do better once the chance comes. The appreciation of life does not require wealth or plenty. It requires only gratitude for the beauty of the world.

- 365 Tao Daily Meditations

By Deng Ming Dao

I have been practicing the art of appreciation and gratitude for years now and usually I would tend to be grateful for all the beautiful things that happened but also I would be grateful for all the hard lessons that I needed to learn.

Recently, after spending a week camping with a bunch of wonderful people, I realized that appreciation has so much more power than gratitude... I can appreciate everything without the need to be emotionally involved in it. I can appreciate an artist without loving his/her work because I can appreciate the talent that this person brings to this world... Also I realized that while feeling appreciation, I feel energetically high!

Let's appreciate!