I want to be a more gracious person. I think I'm going to make it my goal for the year to strive toward that. I've been shown so much grace myself...how could I not return it?

I think of graciousness as a rolled-up combination of humility, joy, gratitude, empathy, and self-confidence. The self-confidence part isn't always easy for me. Occasionally, for example, someone will pay me a compliment. That type of thing is so very appreciated, but my automatic response is to say something along the lines of "Oh no, I don't deserve that for xxxx reason." Especially with music performances, that response is hard to avoid, because anything other than that feels like I'm saying, Yes, thank you, I am the greatest musician of all time. Thank you for recognizing my greatness. In reality though, there's a third option that normally escapes me in the moment. The most natural response would be to say thank you with warmth and affection, and then move on.

Self-deprecation is such an easy trap to fall into. The line between that and humility is a fine one, except that self-deprecation lies at the Selfish end of the spectrum and humility lies at the Selfless end. I'm a highly skilled self-deprecator. So my goal is to become a humble recipient and a fearless giver of grace. Nota bene: this is a long-term goal; no one can effect that type of change overnight change

I'm also fortunate, because my friend Steph is the most gracious person I know, so I have a good role model already built in. She makes every person she meets feel seen and valued, and that, I think, is the outward embodiment of graciousness.

Once we lucked out and got to go to a Smithsonian on a business trip.

So there you have it. All of my recent thoughts. You can decide if they're related or not! And I'll go back to regular programming (you know - stories of making homemade ice cream and things) on Monday. Or maybe tomorrow, because this blog appears to be officially back in business.

Woodstock Writings