One of the most important (free!) tools for strengthening our communities is gratitude. Research confirms that experiencing gratitude enhances trust and empathy, nurturing cooperation and effective problem-solving in communities. Practicing gratitude for each other also leads to upstream reciprocity, which means that feeling gratitude increases our propensity not only to help someone who helped us but also to “pay it forward” to strangers. Try this gratitude practice to help you notice, appreciate, and shift your mindset toward ways of being in community with others that benefit us all while respecting our differences.
A Practice to Lead with Gratitude in Your Community
In this practice, you will be invited to extend gratitude to people or groups in your community belonging to three categories. Before we start the practice, recall a single person or a group from each of the following categories: A person or group you admire and like; a person or group you don’t know well; a person or group with whom you often disagree.
Rashid Hughes November 18, 2021
Eric Langshur and Nate Klemp November 1, 2021
Mindful Staff September 21, 2022
