Gratitude Discussion Group

Posted by Debbra Williams, Alumna Mentor @debbraw, Nov 24, 2018

Hi everyone! Just before Thanksgiving @michellegraffradford posted a blog called Gratitude Changes Everything. She suggested three techniques to help incorporate gratitude into our daily lives:

Start the Day with Gratitude (before getting up think of three people you are grateful for)

Maintain a Gratitude Journal to record times when you are grateful

Count Blessings – not sheep! (Review the day and remember moments of gratitude)

Her blogpost was so inspiring that a lot of us decided we wanted to form a Gratitude Group to keep the attitude of gratitude going. The blogpost area is not an ideal space for a big discussion group so I am moving the discussion over here to the “Just Want to Talk” Group. Let’s use this space to share and discuss our Gratitude Journey. I’m going to suggest that we each try to take a minute from the day and post here what has made us feel thankful today. It can be as small as a stranger’s smile on the bus or as large as fulfilling a major life dream – or anywhere in between. We can also discuss how we are doing with the three techniques. Sometimes it is easier to form new habits with support from others.

Michelle's full blogpost is at the link below. You may want to review it or print it out to help get started!
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/living-with-mild-cognitive-impairment-mci/newsfeed/gratitude-changes-everything/

I look forward to hearing from others in the Gratitude Group and to having others join us here! Thanks to those who already shared great stories. If you haven't yet, what gratitude will you share today?!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Just Want to Talk Support Group.

Harriet Hodgson | @harriethodgson1 | Dec 8, 2018

In reply to @harriethodgson1 "We have a loving, beautiful marriage." + (show)

Thanks for the like Teresa

Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Dec 9, 2018

Today I am grateful for kitty cuddles at 5am, figuring she was wondering why I was still in bed!
Ginger

lioness | @lioness | Dec 9, 2018

In reply to @gingerw "Today I am grateful for kitty cuddles at 5am, figuring she was wondering why I was..." + (show)

@ginger how nice glad you have her. I miss my little dog he would cuddle .Haven't had a pet for years now and thinking of getting one but dogs are alot of work @76now dont want to go through that.

lioness | @lioness | Dec 9, 2018

Im grateful I woke up today

Debbra Williams, Alumna Mentor | @debbraw | Dec 9, 2018

Today I'm thankful for great books. If you love reading, I have two recommendations. Both are about overcoming obstacles and living an inspired and inspiring life. One is about one of the top brain surgeons in the country who is now at Mayo Jacksonville. I had the honor of hearing him speak when @colleenyoung invited me to the Social Media Conference in Jacksonville recently. I just finished his book - Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migrant Farm Worker to Brain Surgeon. I loved this book! The second is The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell. This one is fiction, but still a great story of a boy who is born with ocular albinism and struggles with being different as he grows up. I ended both books feeling good and recognizing that we can be grateful for both our opportunities and our challenges. Have a great day!

Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Dec 9, 2018

In reply to @gingerw "Today I am grateful for kitty cuddles at 5am, figuring she was wondering why I was..." + (show)

@gingerw I get kitty cuddles too and often there are 3 cats curled up against me at night. My really cuddly cat was a bottle fed baby who had been raised by a rescue group. He loves attention, and probably associates snuggling with the milk he got as a baby. He puts his arms around me and hugs me. He came from a couple litters of kittens who were born outside in a boat under a tarp, and when they brought them into the shelter, the momma cats would not feed their babies. They were probably feral. I also adopted 2 kittens who are now grown up and the littlest one is a bit jealous and competes for my attention. She's the one who was fearful and needed extra socializing and she brings me toys to fetch and jump for. The other one is the water kitty who likes to play in the sink with the running water and she likes to steal things like my glasses. She learned how to open drawers, and I opened a dresser drawer one day and there she was curled up inside with the drawer closed. She learned to climb the front of the drawers which made them open and I have to put a stick through the handles to keep her out.

Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Dec 10, 2018

In reply to @jenniferhunter "@gingerw I get kitty cuddles too and often there are 3 cats curled up against me..." + (show)

Just love the stories of your kitties, @jenniferhunter! I'd love to see a picture of them.

Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Dec 10, 2018

Today I am grateful for being able to do an inventory on those darn boxes labeled "miscellaneous" in the garage! I have vowed to myself to go through at least one a week, and thin out what is not really needed. When I moved here in July, towards the end I was so frazzled and stressed things just went in boxes without real sorting. We have been able to arrange the garage so everything is here and not in a storage unit, so if I get a wild hair at 4:30 in the morning, I can go out and look in boxes!
Ginger

Elizabeth Zimmermann | @elizabethzimmermann | Dec 10, 2018

That is an awesome accomplishment. I moved in March, also very tense time, and have boxes everywhere still...but mainly sorted to appropriate locations now, so that's progress.

Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Dec 10, 2018

In reply to @elizabethzimmermann "That is an awesome accomplishment. I moved in March, also very tense time, and have boxes..." + (show)

@elizabethzimmermann My yarn is all in the garage, sorted by weight and type, and almost all of my cotton quilting fabric is in the house. My books are in the house [very important to me]. But it's all the stuff that has accumulated over the course of the years. It's good therapy to go through and see that I have 10 pairs of scissors for example, and don't need more. Likewise fancy computer paper, or pens, or blank journals. Frankly, it's embarrassing.
Ginger