You Look Great Today

No, really, you do. I just did something I don't do often enough: I gave a compliment.

And, no, I'm not being insincere.  No, I can't see you, but I'm sure there is something about you -- your shirt, your casually-curled hair, your heirloom necklace, your taut Michelle Obama arms, your endearingly-crooked smile -- that, well, looks great. This is the point: there is always something to compliment.  Things are not hard to find.

Here's the odd thing.  I think compliments all the time.  At the playground and beyond: That is an adorable kid.  That is a fabulous nanny.  That mother seems to really and authentically enjoy her children. Wow, that was a fabulous bowl of soup. She looks like she has been working out.  Those ringlets are the cutest.  That book was genius.

Danielle LaPorte implores us to join her in A Compliment Revolution, insisting that the world would be a better, indeed fuzzier, place if we doled out simple and sincere compliments. LaPorte argues that compliments are "tiny, but potent form[s] of intimacy."

What do you think? Given that we are all insecure creatures, in constant doubt about how we look and how we love and how we live, it's always nice to get a thumbs up.  And, yes, it does feel good to pay someone else a compliment. But what if we are not used to doing this? What if it doesn't feel natural?  Maybe complimenting people is ultimately a life skill, one that takes practice?

So, join the revolution.  Start practicing now.  Tell me you love this post :)