The Heart of Money by Deborah L. Price

Author:Deborah L. Price
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781608681280
Publisher: New World Library

Growing Your Relationship with Appreciation

When we appreciate someone, it is important to show them that we care and that we value them. Like any financial asset we choose to invest in with hopes that it will appreciate over time, our relationships will also grow in value and worth as we consciously and actively appreciate them. Your relationship is far more valuable than any asset you will ever own. When you do not actively appreciate your partner, the relationship may lose value over time, which could cost you, in some cases, half of what you own, should you lose it. So investing time and energy into learning how to communicate about money is an excellent way to avoid the unnecessary loss of your relationship or financial assets.

During a recent session with Sid and Linda, a couple I’m working with, the question arose as to whether there is a difference between gratitude and appreciation — and if so, what is it? In the thick of the discussion, Sid pulled out his iPhone and searched the Internet for what others may have shared about this question. We found answers that pretty much mirrored our own perspectives. One common distinction we found is that gratitude is the base from which appreciation grows and flourishes, if we’re paying attention. Therefore, we can be grateful for something in our lives without appreciating it.

The subtle shift from gratitude to appreciation involves being more present, thoughtfully aware, and active in reflecting on our reasons for feeling grateful about something or someone. Through present-moment awareness, we begin to generate feelings of appreciation. For example, we can be grateful for having food on our table. However, we can go further and appreciate its beauty, fragrance, taste, nutrition, and preparation. We move beyond thankfulness as we consciously recognize the value that food adds to our lives. In fact, one definition of the word appreciation is “recognition of the quality, value, significance, or magnitude of people and things.”

When we live appreciatively, we experience our partner as someone who makes us feel brighter, lighter, happier, more inspired, energized, and loved. Gratitude and appreciation turn what we have into enough, and then some. They turn denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. They can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend, and our relationship into a sacred sanctuary.

EXERCISE

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