At Middlesex, our Community Life program is about teaching and ensuring healthy living in our community. At regular assemblies and meetings designed to stimulate open conversation, we address a range of topics and issues. This week’s topic is gratitude, one of our five School values (in conjunction with respect, kindness, honesty, and courage). Studies have shown that when people practice gratitude for even small things in their lives, they are happier. There are many ways that people work at cultivating gratitude. One way goes hand-in-hand with mindfulness. That is, to stop and take the time to be grateful for the little things around you – a beautiful day, a delicious cup of coffee, an interesting observation in class, a friendly hello, etc.
In Monday’s community life meetings, students contemplated the following personal gratitude questions:
- What relationships am I thankful for?
- What am I grateful for that I learned about myself this past year?
- What have others done have has benefitted my life – even if these people are strangers?
- Is there anything I am taking for granted that I am grateful for?
- With what challenges have I been faced? What did I learn and how can I be thankful for them?
- What about Middlesex am I thankful for?
- What opportunities or privileges do I have that I’m thankful for?