Theme of Discussion Zoom Meeting: Sorry
©2022 by
Richard E. Gordon • Last updated: 9/1/2022
Duplication prohibited without author’s permission.
Email: rgordon118@tampabay.rr.com
For several questions, I have provided links that will take you to related online information. Try coming up with your own thoughts first – then investigate the links or ignore them – whatever you wish. If the links don’t work with just clicking your mouse arrow, hold down your Ctrl key as you click. Any problems with a link please let me know: rgordon118@tampabay.rr.com
Questions:
1. What does the word sorry mean to you? How about regret? Is there a subtle but importance difference between the two words?
2. Without identifying the culprit, were you ever offended by someone who told you, “I’m sorry.”? What were the offensive circumstances?
3. How can parents influence young children to sincerely say to someone they offended, “Sorry, I hurt your feelings.”?
4. Is feeling sorry for yourself a healthy emotion?
5. Should we feel sorry for people who suffer from a disability? Why might it be a good idea – or not a good idea -- to express our feeling of sorrow to them?
6. If someone offended you and truly felt sorry for doing so, how might she best express an apology? A written note? An email? A phone call? A text message? Only an in-person apology would be adequate?
7. Is feeling sorry only a human characteristic? How about your pet dog? Can she feel sorry, and if so, how is this sorrow expressed?
8. Are humans the only animals that can cry tears as they express their sorrow?
9. Is it ever OK to feel sorry for ourselves?
10. How can you overcome feeling sorry for yourself?
11. Is there a feeling-sorry gene?
12. When did you first experience sorrow for something you did or said?
13. Why are some people so reluctant to say they’re sorry?
14. Why do I sometimes feel sorry when I get angry?
15. Under what circumstances might you feel sorry about feeling happy? You might like to read about meta-emotions
16. How do some people just slaughter the opportunity to simply say “I’m sorry for having offended you.”?
17. Are some people incapable of feeling sorry for someone other than themselves?
18. How would you react to someone saying to you, “I am sorry you feel that way.”? Could the sorry-expresser be a narcissist?
19. Can feeling sorry for yourself be a healthy sign of self-compassion?
20. Have you ever played the board game “Sorry”? What does the game’s title have to do with the content of the game?
21. How might you thoughtfully go about expressing you’re sorry for mis-identifying someone in the LGBTQ+ community?
4. “Sorry doesn’t prove anything unless you mean it.”--Ashley Sexton Professional Boxer
5. “I’m sorry, if you were right, I’d agree with you.” --Robin Williams, Actor
6. “But sorry is the Kool-Aid of human
emotions. True sorrow is as rare as
true love.” --Stephen King, Author
“Dexter, I love you so much. So, so much, and I probably always will. I just don't like you anymore. I'm sorry.”―
8. "Would 'sorry' have made any difference? Does it ever? It's just a word. One word against a thousand actions."― Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
10. “I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.”--D. H. Lawrence
11. “I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back” --. Leo Tolstoy
12. “If I could reach down in my heart, I would say I'm sorry for every unkind word and thought I ever had.” Terry Bradshaw
13. “If anything, we should feel sorry for the people who want us to feel bad about ourselves, because they are the ones struggling for approval. In middle school, bullies tortured other kids because they thought it would make people like them more.” -- Ariana Grande
The End