Last month I lost a dear friend. It happened very fast, and I didn’t really get to say goodbye. It has really made me reconsider how we celebrate the people in our lives.
I often hear the phase “You have no idea how much I miss/love/need you. You are SO important to me”. I see it scattered around my Facebook feed, overheard at coffee shops and in talking with my girlfriends.
It’s sweet, but also incredibly sad. Why are we not saying these things out loud more often? Why do we wait so long to say how we feel? Is it a fear of being rejected? Is it just that we are all too busy?
How much more beautiful would life be if we could regularly witness the joy and delight our words of appreciation brings to others? How much more radiant would the world be if we received gifts of love from our friends, as well as shared them?
I believe a more integrated approach to celebration and appreciation is needed – not waiting until life passes by and it’s too late. Sometimes you lose people, but often it’s less dramatic. Days, weeks, years pass without people knowing how you really feel. Why hold in the joy?
I would like to propose a solution to this problem. And it’s called Celebration Sundays.
Every Sunday (starting this week), take 10 minutes to drop some cards in the mail saying how much someone matters to you. Send a small gift for no reason. Pay for someone’s coffee, or dinner. Express the compliments you are already thinking in your head, out loud, to the person they’re about.
This can apply to artists, bands, online personalities, anyone whose work inspires you, motivates you or touches your soul – tell them! Trust me, they’d LOVE to hear it (praise never gets old).
Share a favorite memory with your loved ones. Tell your friends how much you adore them. Let’s stop playing it cool and waiting until the last possible moment. Let’s be free and open with our adoration of each other. Why? Because you’re amazing, and I bet your friends are too. And life is short.
What I know is that the change starts with you. The more you put your appreciations and celebrations out there, the more other people will pick up on it and join you. Become a Celebration Sunday person, and the world will celebrate with you. Now that sounds fun!
xo,
Ellen
Photo by: Wrote
