FABLES AND FAITH: The Power Of Appreciation
SIMPLY EXPRESSING GRATITUDE CAN BE LIFE-CHANGING GIFT
Posted: November 2, 2009 at 5:17 a.m.
BENTONVILLE — “Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into flame by an encounter with another human being.
Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light.” - Albert Schweitzer In the past several years, this column has talked about the power of several things - hugs for one. The power of faith for another.
The power of laughter, and so on.
Today, I’d like to suggest one more powerful gift that we can give to others that just might be the most powerful. It’s the power of appreciation.
I remember a man who helped shape my life from the time I was in the sixth grade until I had graduated from high school. He served as principal of Fort Smith High School, but my knowledge of him was learned at something called “Stay at Home Camp,” a place for youngsters not yet in high school who didn’t have the money to be sent to summer camps in exotic places like Kanakuk Kamp in Missouri or Hockaday Camp in Dallas.
He served as counselor and director of that summer program, and was a remarkable role model for me and hundreds of other boys and girls.
Because he was such a real person who let us know how important our lives were to him, he set all of us on a path toward goals that many of us would never have considered otherwise.
One of my favorite authors found in the series sponsored by Simple Truths is Barbara Glanz, who wrote a powerful story concerning the simple truths of appreciation. She is an accomplished author and lecturer. Her book “The Simple Truths of Appreciation” will become Christmas gifts for my family and a number of my friends. Hear her words as she speaks to an audience of business men and women in leadership roles.
“I ask my audiences to please shut their eyes and think about someone, who at some time in their lives, has rekindled theirinner light. I leave the room in silence for several minutes, and it is always a profound experience as they remember the joy they received from being appreciated by someone when they needed it the most. Afterward, I ask them to write down the name of the person they thought of and to commit to their own act of appreciation by letting that person know in the next 72 hours that he or she was thought of. I suggest a phone call, a note, or even a little prayer if they are no longer living.
After one moving session, a gentleman came up to talk with me and thanked me for creating a new awareness in him.
He said he thought of his eighth-grade literature teacher because she was everyone’s favorite teacher, and had really made a difference in all of their lives. He planned to track his teacher down, and when he finally found her, he wrote to her.
The following week hereceived this letter:”
“Dear John,
“You will never know how much your letter meant to me. I am 83 years old, and I am living all alone in one room. My friends are all gone. My family’s gone. I taught 50 years and yours is the first “thank you” letter I have ever gotten from a student. Sometimes I wonder what I did with my life. I will read and reread your letter until the day I die.”
He just sobbed on the phone.
He said, “She is always the one we talk about at every reunion. She was everyone’s favorite teacher - we loved her!” But no one had ever told her until she received his letter.
Glanz closed her discussion with the hope that each person who read her book would become more loving and appreciative as we go through our daily lives.
She really struck the depth of my soul when she reminded me that there are life-changing gifts we can give by simply sharing our appreciation with those who have been positive lights in our lives.
We should all remember the power of appreciation and the impact it can have on those who have rekindled our flame during our lives. Shalom!
BOB HAYNES’ COLUMN APPEARS ON MONDAY.
News, Pages 5 on 11/02/2009
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