“I appreciate you.”
I hear it all the time now, a new closing statement, presumably evolved from the more impersonal “I appreciate it,” or “Much appreciated.”
Hooray! We’ve replaced the “it” and the understood “you” with the actual “you.”
As in, “I appreciate you!”
And it works wonders. Doesn’t it?
I certainly feel warm and gooey when it happens, which, thankfully, is a lot.
And it’s not just a good feeling that’s happening.
With some eye contact and gratitude squeezed into the cracks between us, we can form bonds.
We can forge contracts that override the rules forced upon us.
For we are the rule followers and the rule breakers. It’s up to us.
With our voices aligned and the slow, steady murmur of our heartsongs, we can rattle the foundations of skyscrapers, if we choose to.
We can topple the penthouse suite.
It’s already happening.
On a walk in my neighborhood, a woman — who invited us to her Carnivale competition (which we went to) commented on how the evil in the macro is creating good in the micro. That is, the cranked-up oppression of our nation’s fascism is, by the laws of physics, bringing us closer together.
I can feel it. Can you?
Keep your voice in the chorus.
Raise your hands in defiance, and in joy.
I appreciate you.