Observing the Benefits of Appreciation

I recently went on vacation.  No matter where I am, I enjoy observing interactions between other people.  My attention is often drawn to kindness – when it’s there and when it’s absent.  The following are some examples of what I observed.

From my seat on the plane, I overhead the woman in the row behind me phone the taxi company that she had hired to drive her to the airport.  Clearly she had been in a hurry and under stress when she left for the airport.  She arrived safely and made it to her plane on time – but barely.  She wanted the taxi company to know how caring and reassuring her driver was in getting her to the airport on time and without stress.  I’m sure she had shared her thoughts with the driver himself but she wanted his boss to know what a great job he had done.  Listening to the conversation, I was touched by her action.  I could tell by the conversation that the driver’s boss was happy to hear the compliment and I have no doubt that the driver himself will be touched that his passenger took the time to relay the compliment.  This whole transaction took all of about thirty seconds, but I am sure it made several people’s day.  It sure got mine off to a good start!

The first morning of vacation, we were in the breakfast room at our hotel when I over-heard a mom speaking to her son.  They were unable to return to their room for a while so the mom asked the son to get her coffee.  He asked, “decaf?”, “regular?”, “cream?”, “sugar?”  He seemed intent on getting it just right.  He did just as he was asked and came back with the coffee she requested.  She said nothing.  Not even a “thank you”.  He became very fidgety.  It may be that he was ready to move on to the next activity, but it may be that there was a touch of disappointment with the lack of recognition for his kind act.

On the return flight home, the air became turbulent.  The flight attendants were having difficulty serving beverages.  A number of passengers requested wine, which involves payment.  The attendants poured the wine and said they’d be back to collect the fee.  They never returned for the payment.  The passenger next to me reminded the flight attendant that she hadn’t charged him for his wine.  She was so appreciative of his honesty that she brought him an extra glass of wine.

Appreciations matter.  Appreciation can make someone’s day.  The absence of appreciation for a job well done can impact how you feel and can have an effect on your relationship.  An unanticipated appreciation can elicit an unexpected and touching moment.

Recognize the value in appreciating people in your life.  Who will you let know that their action made a positive difference to you?

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