Appreciation

Just as each mind is unlike any other, every person’s cellular structure is specific to them. Differences in genetic design, and events that influence the development of cells, ensure that everyone perceives the world with dissimilar sensory abilities; and the specific physical construction of the brain dictates how these perceptions are presented for interpretation by the consciousness. For instance: you and I have quite different eyes, not only in size and shape, but with a distinct number and arrangement of receptor cells, which transmit an electrical signal to our brains. When looking at a poppy, we will both see a different image due to the quality of our vision, and each of our brains will receive input signifying the colour red; but “red” is dependent upon the number and condition of our receptor cells, the physiology of the eye itself, and how our mind interprets the electrical signals. We can both identify the hue as “red”, but the sensation of the colour can only be experienced personally; the actual perception is unknowable to anyone else.

Beyond this, there is also a mental, or spiritual, aspect to the “experiencing” of red. Continuing with the poppy example: suppose you are a veteran of the second World War, and poppies in general invoke memories of wartime service. Seeing that specific shade of red now can have an emotional element, perhaps a sense of melancholy, which is a part of your experience of the sensation. I, on the other hand, may connect that particular hue with a treasured childhood memory, and have a sense of contentment when exposed to the colour. Neither of us may be consciously aware of this link between past and present encounters with red, yet it has become unique to each of us in the way we experience it now.

...

Realizing the significance of your life, because every specific sensation is available to you only once, and never again, leads one to understand that life has great value. In the infinite passage of time, you have this brief moment to know what it is to exist in this form. Every sensation is to be appreciated for the reason that it cannot occur the same way again.

[source]
[image is from Telegraph UK]