cultivating appreciation

In the spirit of deliberate appreciation, a philosophy with which I am attempting to imbue my whole life, I was delighted by this post by the Ottawa gardener at Ottawa Hortiphilia. Whether it is meant as damnation with faint praise, or is a sincere laudatory expression for a flagrantly generous plant, it reminded me to step back from some of my numerous troubles and appreciate them for what they bring into my life. Or as an old and trite story goes, if one were to choose from amongst bundles of troubles that people are required to carry in life, most of us would go on and choose to take up our own bag of rags again. Might as well acknowledge all the positive things they bring to our lives.