Kiss Up

Day 167: "This Is the Most Delicious Muffin I Have Ever Tasted"

I've been going through a music phase. I usually go through music phases. Sometimes they're secular and sometimes they're Jewish. Well folks, this one hit me hard. There's a YouTube playlist entirely devoted to the melodies of Reb Shlomo Carlebach and hey, they're super catchy!

This is an especially appropriate music phase because of today's value. Reb Carlebach was excellent at appreciating things. Sounds trivial, I know, but imagine complimenting someone so intensely on one specific thing that their mood immediately changes. Reb Carlebach was the master of this.

I wanted to embody this today, after all, so many people in the world deserve to be so extraordinarily complimented. I thought maybe work would be a good place but no situation seemed right. I came home and I thanked my parents for dinner like I always do but I couldn't find much more to say on the subject (I don't really like tomato sauce so it was difficult to begin with). Then I struck gold. Relevant and awesome gold.

My freshman year roommate (who also happens to be my sophomore year roommate) and I were Skyping. We got onto the subject of our parents and I told her my parents loved her and from there I was able to compliment her as deeply as I could, yet (even though the sentiments were true), something still felt strange. I felt like I was kissing up even though I truly meant it all.

I wonder if Reb Carlebach ever experienced this or if people maybe didn't always take his compliments seriously? Well, it's just food for thought....or a muffin to munch on....but honestly "this is the most delicious muffin I have ever tasted."