Compliments

The nicest compliments are the ones you never hear.

-read this before but i forgot where..

I think this statement is true since most of us don’t know how to tell someone we admire them without feeling cheesy or a fraud.

We usually can’t take compliments so we brush it off. I’ve experienced what it’s like to sincerely compliment someone and them thinking that I was just being polite.

But I did mean it and I hope they realized it.

I’m guilty as well because I usually brush off a lot of compliments that come my way. I don’t like compliments because they create expectations for me to live up to.

But I want to change that perspective. Maybe some people are truly sincere and a simple “thank you” can make their day.

Why is it so easy for us to forget the compliments yet remember for years and years the nasty comments people made against us?

Maybe we’re trained to focus on the negative.

Today’s question is:

What is the nicest compliment you have been given recently? Who said it? Why was it meaningful?

I had to reflect on that. I haven’t been out a lot to meet with people, and the times I did go out, I was usually met with some unpleasant side comments.

However, one scenario came to mind.

One evening, I was chatting about my day with my boyfriend when suddenly he told me that I’ve changed. I looked happy and free.

It’s meaningful to me because I have been deconstructing my religion, and have taken a different approach in life. I still believe in God and I think I always will.

I never thought I could embrace the people around me with love and acceptance, simply because I wasn’t taught that. I was conditioned to view people as prospects or candidates for church membership, rather than human beings with complicated lives. Human beings hungry for love and connection.

I cried out to God for repentance and eveyday I learn something new. It’s a daily challenge to undress myself of a selfish perspective, along with all the other false beliefs I held about God, love and life.

When my boyfriend noticed the change in me and complimented me for it, I couldn’t explain the satisfaction I felt. It was a very meaningful moment for me.

I have changed. I’ve always wanted to, and now it’s beginning.

I’m working hard on myself, always learning and stripping my mind of all the trauma that was inflicted upon me. It’s not a pleasant journey, but I believe it will be so worth it.