Gratitude vs Appreciation........

You know how sometimes when you hear something......and you think wow never thought of it that way???......this is what happened when I was listening to one of my podcasts about the difference between gratitude and appreciation.......it was such a subtle yet powerful nuance I had to share and it will definitely stay with me as I travel forward....... gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Appreciation being the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something. In what I was listening to the person was saying that while gratitude is good, and we all know it really is......it is a huge game changer, we all should be looking toward feeling appreciation.......because the energy around being grateful can be " I am so grateful that I am not where I was before, or feeling that again or any number of things".......sort of coming from a positive vibe mixed with a negative one???.......like relief from what was troubling us......bringing some negative energy up by having it sort of drag along that negative energy with it????......whereas appreciation is a cleaner vibe if you will......just appreciating what is now without attachment to what was.......interesting right?? Being a person that looks toward and ponders gratitude as much as I do, it was kind of crazy to hear, feel, and understand the difference.......so moving forward I am planning of being mindful of that difference and looking toward appreciating more......just in the moment and calling it that instead of always using grateful in my rhetoric because I do think the distinction holds merit and makes sense........I think our language holds power as I have said, whether it is in our mind or in spoken word.......and if you start to pay attention to what people are speaking around you, or what you are speaking in your head.......it is kind of eye opening.......and subtle shifts and differences add up.....I have mentioned it before, my use of that is a challenge vs that is a problem......or that feels challenging vs that feels hard......it is subtle but makes a big difference......so now I guess I will see that same shift in appreciation vs gratitude......I do think it is important though to think of where you have come from and feel that contrast....and gratitude allows us to do that......making us weep in a moment to think of how far we have come......and the difference in the now versus the past......and I will never stop doing that......never stop understanding how blessed I am, and how often blessings show up......understanding clearly how it could have been, and how far down the road I am.....and traveling in gratitude and the understanding of all of that every step of the way......so that will never be lost on me despite my hearing this take on these two important practices......but it was interesting to me and hit me in that way that was like Ahh.....yeah I get it.....gratitude and appreciation on repeat......always a good place to put our energy indeed!