Once you find a way to build otheresteem, whether through the 4 practices or naturally in the course of a relationship, it is also important to find ways of expressing it. This giving will bring it forward, making a difference in the life of the other and your own.
Mark Hundley, author, speaker and a counselor specializing on loss and grief issues, knows this firsthand. On his desk sits a colored jar that reminds him every day of the importance of giving your positive perceptions freely. Inside the jar are 101 pieces of paper written especially for him by a wonderful young woman creatively expressing all the otheresteem she felt. On each hand cut slip, she wrote something she liked about him. ”I didn’t know there were 101 things about me worth mentioning! “, says Mark, “She told me, Whenever you’re down, pull out a slip of paper and remember I love you!” Power packed otheresteem expression with real impact every single day!
The jar serves its purpose beautifully and then some! It also helps Mark teach his clients about the power of giving. He says this story “stops clients in their tracks”. He waits until they ask about the colored jar sitting patiently on the desk to tell it, and they invariably do ask.
How can you express otheresteem? Be creative. Find simple, enduring ways like this young woman did, and let the effect ripple on!
A special thanks to Mark Hundley for sharing this story, for being who he is and for allowing me to share it here.
You can visit his website at http://livinginthemeantimes.typepad.com/
