Theme of Zoom Meeting

Theme of Zoom Meeting: Gratitude

Questions:
For several questions, I have provided underlined links that will take you to related online information. I restricted my search to edu sites – those related to colleges and universities. Try coming up with your own thoughts first – then investigate the links or ignore them – whatever you wish. By the way, you can buy a kindle book titled Gratitude for only 99 cents.

1. Before checking out the dictionary, give your definition of Gratitude.

2. A therapist recommended to her depressed patient to write out a list of all the things she should be grateful for and read over the list in the morning as she sipped her cup of coffee. Why do you think this may or not be helpful advice?

3. Can developing the habit of feeling gratitude and expressing gratitude to others be good for both your physical and mental health?

4. Would it be worth the effort for you to write out a gratitude list, one that you frequently read and add to it? How about a gratitude journal?

5. Can you think of a gratitude trigger – something in your home that would remind you to remember to focus on what you should have gratitude for?

6. Would be a good idea to share all or part of your gratitude list with someone else? Whom might you want to share it with?

7. Consider some of the things that you are grateful for in life. Then consider which of these grateful blessings you are willing to share with our group. Would you share those top three with us?

8. Can you make a habit out of thinking of blessings you are grateful for? How? Are you comfortable with the word “blessings” to identify those aspects of your life for which you are grateful?

9. How can you show gratitude to someone for something she/he has done for you?

10. How do you feel toward someone who shows gratitude to you?

11. How can you practice gratitude so that it becomes a habit that gives you give good feelings even when things in your life are not going well? More on practicing gratitude.

12. Can practicing expressing gratitude help your own mental health?

13. Look around your immediate environment. What do you find to express gratitude for? Does this exercise have any positive benefits for you or is it just a waste of time?

14. When Luke gets up the morning, he often feels depressed. Can you think of anything that he might do to raise his spirits?

15. What, if anything, is there in the current political scene that you should be grateful for?

16. Did you notice that the word gratitude contains – except for the extra t -- the word attitude? Do you see any significant relationship between gratitude and attitude?

17. How – if at all – has our discussion today changed your attitude toward gratitude?

Quotations

1. “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust

2. “You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach

3. ”Did you know that studies show that practicing gratitude can increase your happiness levels by about 25 percent? This fact was reported by Robert Emmons, PhD–one of the world’s foremost experts on gratitude– in his book, Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier.”

4. “Gratitude Journal. The practice of keeping a gratitude journal was made famous by Sarah Ban Breathnach in her book, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy.”

5. “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” — Epictetus

6. Reflect upon your present blessings, for which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." – Charles Dickens

7. "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others."—Cicero

8. At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” – Albert Schweitzer

9. “Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals.
If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more.” ― Roy T. Bennett

10. “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”
― John F. Kennedy