Appreciation Circle
A living ceremony of honoring someone while they are still here to receive it.
Why do we wait until someone dies to say everything we appreciated about them?
I do not want to wait for someone's funeral to tell them what they meant to me. I want them to hear it now, while we are both still standing in the room.
An Appreciation Circle is a ceremony where a person is honored, out loud, by the people who love them, while they are still here to receive it. It is not a birthday toast or a eulogy rehearsal. It is a tradition I learned through medicine work, where each person present speaks directly to the one being honored and names what they see in them: their gifts, their impact, the ways they have shaped the people around them.
I experienced this firsthand at my own 50th birthday, held alongside my mother's 79th. We sat together in circle, and one by one, the people who loved us said the things we so rarely say out loud. I did not know how much I needed to hear it until I was sitting inside it. My mother did not either. It changed something in both of us, and it is a big part of why I now hold this ceremony for others. You can read the fuller story, and watch a clip from that circle, on the blog: What Is an Appreciation Circle?
Sitting in the seat being honored is its own practice, and a deep one. It is easy to deflect a compliment, laugh it off, or start thinking about what you will say back before the person in front of you has even finished speaking. An Appreciation Circle asks something different of you. You are not there to reciprocate. You are there to receive: to let each person's reflection land, to take it in fully, without giving anything back or explaining it away. For many people, that is harder than giving appreciation ever was, and more powerful.
An Appreciation Circle can be held for:
- A milestone birthday, the way mine was
- A parent, mentor, or elder while they are still able to hear it
- A couple, a family, or a team, to close out a chapter together
- Anyone who has carried others quietly, for years, without being told what that carrying meant
Every circle I facilitate is shaped around the person or group being honored. I hold the space, set the container, and guide each participant into presence so what gets spoken is not performance, it is true. Some circles are intimate, four or five voices. Others are larger, a full room taking turns. Either way, the person at the center leaves having heard, in their own lifetime, what they mean to the people around them.
If you are holding a milestone, closing a chapter, or simply know someone who has given more than they have ever been thanked for, I would love to talk with you about creating an Appreciation Circle for them, or for you.
Book your free soul aligned call and let's talk about what this could look like for your family, your team, or your next gathering.
