Last year I gave myself a quiet resolution to speak affirmations more. In my work through the years I have observed and noticed a lot of individuals growing into amazing people and do some amazing things.
Sadly, I often have held onto those noticings under my own self-talk of “they don’t want a creeper”, “I am sure they know this”, or even “I don’t want to bother them”. All are silly. Who does not like a little affirmation every now and then, especially if you are in some work or life trial that does not get the usual recognitions that come with ‘success’ and ‘achievements’. So with this I resolute to get over my introvert self and self-talk to speak into folks affirmations of their work or maybe who I see them becoming.
I never gave myself a hard rule like; give one affirmation a day (though that is possible). I wanted this to be a natural process of my contemplative and observational nature. Sometimes these would be small or elaborate. Sometimes these would be online or in person. At the core, they were (and continue to be) heartfelt. They might start something like this, “Can I tell you how cool it has been to watch you…. <insert change of attitude, behavior, outreach, etc>”. Might get into a, “I am totally seeing you become more… <insert visible changes, loving, patient, growing, changing, etc.>”. And then it may go on to end in, “I love what God is doing in your life”.
It continues to be a pretty cool experience to affirm folks in what I see God helping them to become.
What is the funny thing about all this, and partly the mystery of God. This changes me as well. I see people much more lovingly, much more completely. I see folks in ways that God sees them. And, in grand style, it changes me.
It is not quite the same thing, but it somewhat is. There is this scene in a Dr. Who episode where the doctor is flying around with Vincent VanGogh (and Amy Pond). They stop at the Musee’ d’Orsay in Paris to provide a moment of affirmation. Just watch.
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