To get a better sense of how you really feel, try to put your thoughts into words.

There’s a word association game where one person says a word and the other blurts out the first things that come to mind. The game can be incredibly funny because there’s not enough time to think about the answers⏤what comes out is unrehearsed and unpolished. 

Try playing this game yourself by making a list of people in your life and jotting down, in one unfiltered flash and with no forethought, what makes them special in your eyes. Just scribble out a word or two at first. After you’ve made your initial list go back and flesh it out some more, using it to think about what message you would convey to each person if they needed a little kind encouragement today. Believe it or not, people can’t read your mind. If you don’t tell them exactly what you appreciate about them, they might not know it! 

Think of this exercise as like writing the acknowledgments section of your book of life. You start with a word or a few words and then expand it into a sentence or a few sentences. After that, you can expand it into an entire letter or conversation. The point is simply to tell the people who are important to you that they are and to use the powerful gift of language to acknowledge and encourage others. Here are some simple, but real, examples:

Gregarious, wise, kind: I love how the moment you enter a room the energy is amplified. You bring kindness and laughter with you everywhere you go. You have a way of making everyone feel valued, even in a room of 100 people. You are an amazing listener and as calm and steady as still waters. You lead the way while walking side by side with me. My secret name for you is the Mapmaker.

Thoughtful, curious, intelligent: I love how you walk around a problem and look at it from every angle, like a curious explorer, before making any judgment about how to proceed. You are measured but not calculating. When I am stumped, stymied, or stuck, I always go to you for advice, and you always help me shift my perspective from the problem to the solution. My secret name for you is the Oracle.

Adventurous, creative, detached: I love how you refuse to be tethered to any single belief, idea, place, or time. You cannot be contained or defined. You embrace your Eternal nature without fear. I love your desire to experience the delights that this world has to offer. You talk to flowers. You have a fiercely creative and intelligent mind. My secret name for you is the Delightful One.

Copyright 2023 Kesel Wilson (entirely, 100% human-created)

Please share my writing with your friends and family.