Tuesday, 13th August 2019
#thecomplimentproject: Purple and Blue!
*waves*
*welp!*
I suddenly realize that it has been over a month since I have blogged.
However, I will be honest – at this stage, this blog is still a best endeavors project.
I have had leave for 6.5 weeks across that time – the first significant break for over two years; and it has been *amazing*.
We are starting with the first two colours of the rainbow: purple and blue. Hence #thecomplimentproject: Purple and Blue!
#thecomplimentproject
I did actually create all 99 compliments, as per my goal.
However, I got a bit slack with making them into memes and sharing them.
The feedback I have received would seem to indicate that people are still interested in seeing them – so I will create a few blog posts to share them.
Gratitude
Doing #thecomplimentproject really did focus me again on gratitude – I was in a really good head space to start my leave, and to enjoy my birthday celebrations.
Whilst I did lapse in my public sharing of compliments, the practice of meditating upon them, and creating one daily certainly was a challenge. It made me really aware of how much we compliment based on physical appearance, and how often it is a throwaway line.
Feeling “seen”.
Some of my compliments were created with specific people in mind.
When I shared these with the people that inspired them, the common response was variations upon “I feel seen”.
We all need to be “seen” – to be appreciated for who we are, for what we do, for the gifts we bring to the world.
To pay compliments to the one we love is the first method of caressing, a demi-audacity venturing. A compliment is something like a kiss through a veil.
“I’m proud of how you are.”
This could be “I’m proud of how passionate / driven / compassionate / insert other descriptor here you are”.
When I was contemplating this for #thecomplimentproject, I decided I liked best just as it was: “I’m proud of how you are”.
It would have meant a great deal to me if I had heard that as child or teenager.
This series of images are based on the rainbow, using scarves as backgrounds – hence calling this post #thecomplimentproject Purple and Blue.
Typically, I don’t wear purple, so I only own one purple scarf.
When I am Old, I will wear Purple
My uniform for my very grown up and responsible job is blue, so I have, as you can see, a number of blue scarves.
Random fact: apparently we couldn’t ‘see’ blue until relatively recently in human history.
If you are interested in the history of the colour blue, Michel Pastoureau’s book “Blue: The History of a Color” is well worth a read.
Compliment people. Magnify their strengths, not their weaknesses.
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