Give a little love

While I was sitting in the chair at the hair salon, hair wet and tousled, just mindlessly staring out the window at the snow covered parking lot, an elderly woman was on her way out the door. I hadn't noticed, but she had been staring my direction.

"You have such beautiful eyes."

"Thank you."

"I have always loved blue eyes."

Such a simple compliment can go such a long way. I don't give or receive compliments very often, but when it happens it always leaves me with such a warm feeling inside. I always find myself admiring others for a wide variety of reasons. It could be something about their looks. But most often it has something to do with their personality. And even though I know how good it feels to receive a compliment, I often find myself not bothering to give them out freely.

Just think if everyone chose to give out compliments to their loved ones today (and every day) instead of chocolates, silly stuffed toys, balloons, and flowers. I'm not saying that you should stop giving out those others (I've never been known to reject chocolate!), it would be a nice addition, though, to hand out something that can never be bought in a store. And I'm guessing that it would be remembered and appreciated long after the chocolate has been digested, the balloons have deflated, and the flowers have died.