Appreciation

In one of my classes this semester (MGT 537B: "The Executive Mind II - Mastering Reactions"), I've been required to keep a log of things I appreciate in my life. Here are the words of the actual assignment:

Project B
In our first module, we practiced "re-newing attention". Many people reported that the exercise awoke a sense of wonder and appreciation for the positive and healthy aspects of the work and home life that they had previously taken for granted. This practice builds on that exercise.

As we start Project B, which is a reorienting of attention to the things going well in life, begin each day with a list of 10 things you appreciate in your life. Simply write the first 10 things that come to mind, without editing. They don't have to be deep or profound and no one else will see the list beside you.

Unless, of course, one decides to put the list for the past week up on a public blog. I've found the exercise clarifying and provocative. Is there a qualitative difference, for instance, between appreciating a transient object (like an item of food) and a less transient person, like my spouse? Is appreciation the same emotion as gratitude? (Not quite. "Gratitude" implies that something tangible has been given and suggests a greater sense of locality and presentness. "Appreciation" to me suggests a more ongoing emotion, a recognition of the richness of life.) Can I feel appreciation for something long past? (Yes, I would argue so, and my list reflects this sentiment -- because many things in the past have left their luminous and indelible imprints on me, which I savor and sometimes rely on for strength and wisdom in dark times.)

So here's my list, in no particular order. There are 70 items on this list, reflecting seven days' worth of logging.

1. Good sushi (but only salmon and tuna, please, and no exotic fish like fugu)
2. My new Kenneth Cole shoes
3. Earl Grey tea
4. Strawberries in season (as they are now)
5. Ripe mangoes (especially the South Asian types)
6. Our "little green house" (as my children call it) in Claremont.
7. Friends who keep me sane and remind me of my limitations and my dreams.
8. My new Honda Stream waiting for us in Singapore.
9. My faith (for the last 20 years)
10. My parents, who patiently endured my angst, pride and self-will
11. Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure
12. The ability to play the piano
13. The ability to rollerblade
14. The San Gabriel mountains that I can see here in Claremont
15. The flowers blooming now riotously in my back and front yards
16. My job and recent promotion
17. Singing
18. Thai massage
19. Spaghetti with meatballs
20. My haircut from Bliss Salon in Claremont
21. Claremont United Methodist Nursery School
22. The towpath by Lake Carnegie in Princeton
23. The view from my living room in Singapore
24. My laptop
25. My lefthandedness
26. Fiona, who reminds me who I really am when I have trouble remembering
27. Joshua and Emma, who think I am Superman, a horse, a cook, a gardener and a racecar driver all in one
28. Skiing in Vermont and Colorado
29. Calvin Klein
30. Yosemite National Park
31. My new, extra-wide running shoes (no more blisters)
32. Singapore Airlines
33. Cable TV
34. Broadband wi-fi
35. The seasons
36. Costco
37. www.pandora.com
38. Wee Nam Kee chicken rice (from Novena, Singapore)
39. My teachers, whose examples I try to emulate when I teach: Braema Mathi, Antoine Monti, Diana Fuss, Leslie Foster, Derek Trueman, Esther Schor, and all my patient Chinese teachers who had to deal with me
40. That people are now (finally) paying more attention to fuel efficiency
41. Kindred Spirit and PEF at Princeton
42. Bill and Debbie Boyce
43. Bill and Debbie Williamson
44. My trusty, faithful Tag Heuer watch
45. Changi Village and Changi Spit in Singapore
46. Great mechanical pencils with HB graphite (which I've used for most of my writing for the last 15 years)
47. God's immeasurable grace to me
48. My beloved teak four-poster bed and armchairs in Singapore
49. Philip Yancey
50. iTunes
51. "The Wasteland" and "The Four Quartets"
52. East Coast Park (Singapore)
53. Chocolate
54. My new suit
55. The woods of the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton
56. My trusty Toyotas - first, the Vios, and now, the Sienna
57. Ice cream
58. Netflix, which has allowed me to watch great movies like "Notes on a Scandal" and "Munich"
59. Rollerblading in Pasir Ris, Bedok Reservoir and East Coast Park
60. MercyMe
61. The Bible (and though I know I shouldn't play favorites, I especially like the letters to Timothy, the Gospel of John and the Psalms)
62. Rich Mullins (especially "Bound to Come Some Trouble")
63. My swimming trunks
64. That I have a pleasant walk to school
65. Elizabeth Bishop
66. The "weekend" section of the Los Angeles Times
67. www.addall.com
68. C S Lewis
69. The churches I've gone to: Changi Baptist, Westerly Road, Baseline Community
70. Clean and Clear's zit-busting gel

So there it is. I officially appreciate all these things, people, experiences, and lessons. Thank God for all of them.