Acknowledgement

The Importance of Acknowledgement in Family Relationships

Acknowledgement is an essential human need. It is the recognition and acceptance of someone's presence, effort, and contributions. Acknowledgement gives a sense of identity and validation,

and it is an integral part of healthy human relationships. However, when the need for acknowledgement is not fulfilled, it can lead to feelings of low self-esteem, unworthiness, and isolation.

In a recent coaching session, a client expressed her longing for acknowledgement from her family members. She was frustrated that her family members could not see how much she was suffering just by not being acknowledged. She is ready to do anything while her argument was

that even though she did not expect to be acknowledged outside of her home, at least her family members should recognize her efforts and contributions.

The need for acknowledgement is closely related to our identity. When we are not acknowledged, we do not feel our presence, and it questions our existence. Even small gestures like sharing a smile with the watchman when entering the society gate can be sufficient for him to feel that his presence matters. Therefore, when the urge for acknowledgement is not fulfilled

within the family, it can lead to serious repercussions.

The story of Bheel, a dacoit who became the future Valmiki who wrote Ramayana, is a classic example of the importance of acknowledgement within the family. Narad Muni, who Bheel wanted to kill, asked Bheel to take him to his most dear ones before he killed him. Bheel took Narad Muni to his son and wife, and Narad Muni told both of them that for the spiritual upliftment of Bheel, they had to exchange their good karmas with his bad karmas. However, both denied the request, and Bheel realized that his family was not there to share his karmas for whom he was doing the same.

If your family members are not acknowledging you for anything you do, and it hurts you every now and then, how are you going to overcome that hurt? What would you like to do instead? If the expectation of acknowledgement is not getting fulfilled from even family members, forgetting about outsiders is even more challenging.

As the saying goes, we generally find all our answers in our holy scriptures. It is written that your longing for acknowledgement can be addressed by connecting with Krishna, praying for help, and engaging in his loving service. Reciprocating with us, Krishna will duly connect us to someone appropriate who will act as his instrument for harmoniously addressing our need.

In practical life, we can also articulate the same by saying "Har Nar me Narayan Hai." If family members are not enough to fulfill all our needs, they may get fulfilled by someone else too. Provided how much we are open to it. We are all connected to one soul, and this family has become so big that we have created small families for ourselves from this big family of 1.2

billion. When we see it that way, getting our needs fulfilled just from the family or outside the family premises becomes not a big deal.

Dr. Khan's dialogue from the movie "Dear Zindagi" emphasizes the importance of not putting the burden of every expectation on a single person, like a life partner. We can have different kinds of friends who can fulfill different aspects of our life. Some can be coffee friends, some

can be venting out friends, some can be book reading friends, and some can be party friends. Therefore, it is crucial to ask ourselves if we are expecting too much from just one aspect of our life or are we ready to explore and embrace many more.

Acknowledgement is an integral part of human relationships, and it is crucial to fulfill this need within the family. However, if our family members cannot fulfill all our needs, we can ask ourselves the following questions.

Are we expecting it from the right person?

Is there anyone who is already fulfilling our need and we need to just shift that focus?

And lastly for how long you would like to expect the same thing from the person who is not willing to give so?

Finally, the CHOICE is YOURS because the LIFE is YOURS