The Joy of Giving

Hi everyone!

What a foggy rainy day it is here in Galena today! Drove up early this morning with the dog, hoping to get some work done and a little peace before leaving for Colorado with the family for the holidays next week. I'm listening to the "Shame" motion picture soundtrack and it's putting me in a reflective mood.

The question I'm asking today is when was the last time you paid someone a compliment? How did it make you feel? Or, more importantly, how did it make the other person feel? Every year around this time it seems that everyone is always talking about how it's better to give than receive, but the cynic in me often questions the sincerity of these people. I mean, let's face it--I don't care what anyone says--receiving is pretty cool. And I think most of us are better at receiving compliments than actually giving them...I know I am.

But then I started thinking about the kids I taught earlier this year, the looks they got on their faces when I told them they'd done a good job...the utter disbelief. A couple of them looked at me like I was crazy, like no one had ever said a nice thing to them or given them emotional validation before. For a lot of those kids, having by-and-large grown up in broken homes or on the streets, it isn't really all that surprising that they wouldn't know how to take a compliment or, in the very least, would be skeptical about it. As the giver, well, it made me appreciate these kids all the more. The light that would shine in their eyes--however fleeting--when I gave them praise was priceless. I can still see it in my mind's eye. That alone made my decision to go into teaching worth the effort.

Last night in my acting class I praised a friend of mine in there--Justin--on his scene work. We've been in class together now since the beginning of September and last night for the first time it was like he had a real breakthrough. It was cool to see how far he's come since we started and I finally saw his true potential. I told him that during class and others agreed. As we were leaving, he came up to me and thanked me rather profusely for the complimentary feedback. It had really made his night and, I gotta say, his genuine appreciation kind of made mine.

Ciao.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: "Who have you complimented today?"