Accepting and Giving Compliments

What is it in our society that many of us are not great at accepting compliments?  I and many others will often say, "Yeah, yeah!", or "this old thing?", or brush it off as if the ones in our lives give only empty flattery or compliments. 

I can only speak for myself.  I hate to hurt feelings.  I try to see the best in others and hope that, because I'm not an overly blunt person, people will not see me as dishonest. I also give compliments easy because I do see many good things in others.  At times, it has been taken as sheer flattery instead of sincerity.  I could never be a judge on "American Idol" or "Canadian Idol"  as it seems to ask people like me to be harsh and cut down the hard work and practice of those who've put sincere effort into what they do.  I won't tell someone they're brilliant if they're not, but I won't tell them they're crap either!

When I went downtown one day, I saw some old leaves and twigs and right among them was what I saw in this picture!  Gorgeous blossoms!