CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON -- The Moral of the Story

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be

appreciated.”

-- William James

Are you crossing names off your gift list only to realize that you

need to add several more? Are you searching for the perfect gift? I may

be able to help.

There’s a gift that I’ve been given by more people than I can count,

and it’s a gift I treasure every time I receive it. It’s been given to me

by family and close friends, as well as by total strangers.

Likewise it is something you can give to loved ones or people whose

names you don’t even know. It’s a gift that is appropriate any time of

year, but many people could really use it now.

The cost is minimal, but the rewards are great. Actually, you won’t

always know what the rewards are, but I guarantee they far surpass any

slight cost of time or inconvenience.

The gift I’m talking about is the gift of appreciation. If we all

understood the positive power that can come from it, I think we would all

be giving and receiving it much more frequently. It’s a fun gift that is

often contagious and can spread far and wide.

I saw this gift spread among a number of people two weeks ago. It was

three days before Thanksgiving, but the market felt more like the night

before Christmas. I think everybody who wanted to beat the rush arrived

the same time I did.

The aisles were crowded, the lines were long, and there were frequent

announcements asking all cashiers to come up front. It looked like

freeway gridlock.

I could hear people grumbling around me. I was probably about to

mumble myself when it seemed like God told me to look at the cashier in

my line. Even from a distance, I could see her smiling and talking to

customers.

I was impressed that she was so chipper because she must have been

tired of long lines and impatient shoppers. When I finally started

unloading my cart, my cashier asked the cashier behind me, “Are you

leaving town for the holidays?”

“Are you kidding? I already have,” was her response.

Everybody nearby laughed and many joined in.

“When do you think you’ll be back?” I asked.

“I’m not sure just yet, but judging from how I feel today, I think it

will be quite some time,” she answered.

I realized that the cashiers probably all would have preferred to be

on the other side of the counter and headed home. Several of us must have

thought the same thing.

“We all appreciate what you do for us,” I said to my cashier and the

one behind me.

“And I appreciate your positive attitude and sense of humor,” said the

next customer in line.

“Most everyone who comes here is pretty friendly, but today has been

tough,” my cashier said. “So I appreciate your appreciation!”

A proverb that I love says, “Like apples of gold in settings of silver

is a word spoken in right circumstances.”

I’m not sure my words were that valuable or profound, but they did

seem to be appreciated.

Appreciation is a gift everyone could use. Unlike other gifts,

appreciation never goes out of style.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at o7

[email protected] or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 5,

Newport Beach, CA 92658.