“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”  -Voltaire

So it turns out I did win the Tom Holce award last night and I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect and beautiful close to the summer of gratitude than standing up in front of 800 of the most successful entrepreneurs in Oregon and saying thank you for recognizing my work in making love real in the world. Winning the  Oregon Entrepreneurs Network’s prestigious annual Tom Holce Entrepreneurship award in the Development category is a gift of appreciation from the people who recognize and value the power of dreaming big.

Almost as much fun as hearing Good Clean Love after the winner was the opportunity to offer my own appreciation.  I was able to say thank you to all of the people who have made Good Clean Love possible and to celebrate the reason I spend my life promoting love.

Yet the thrill and satisfaction of external wins is also short lived I realized as I woke up this morning. Great moments of glory are like shooting stars- they captivate us and hold our attention for the bright sparkling moment they are happening.  Then we wonder, did that really happen? Big golden moments are like a dream in that way.

As I worked with my fatigue, I remembered the grief that the holidays brought to my kids sometimes.  Their expectations that life would change because of this or that gift or special recognition was not unlike my own. I love being celebrated in the world, but understand again, that we thrive as we cultivate the ability to appreciate ourselves.   Looking my tired eyes in the mirror today and telling myself how proud I am to be me is a new skill that I earned from the summer of gratitude.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. It is a prayer that speaks love.