Give it Away - Giving, Gifting, and Gratitude

Workshop Title: Give it Away - Giving, Gifting, and Gratitude

As we cultivate a grateful attitude, we are more likely to be happy and pass the kindness on. When we regularly engage in a practice of expressing our gratitude: WE HEAL - WE INSPIRE - WE CHANGE LIVES Derek J. Daley & Justin Swensen will be presenting Friday, August 28th at this years Wilderness Therapy Symposium in Park City, UT. Give it Away – GIVING GIFTING & GRATITUDE –

Description of Presentation:

Participants will develop an understanding and appreciation of sharing an established culture of giving, gifting, and gratitude. With natural materials (bone, rock, leather), we will create small gifts including rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Attendees will explore important factors of intention, meaning-making, ethics, and sincerity in the process of creating and sharing gifts with clients, co-workers, parents, visitors, and friends. Each participant will leave the workshop with a completed gift and the skills necessary to recreate the experience within their own work environment. Focus will be on both the hard skills of creating the jewelry and the larger process of growing a positive organizational culture.

Derek J. Daley & Justin Swensen will be presenting Friday, August 28th at this years Wilderness Therapy Symposium in Park City, UT. Give it Away – GIVING, GIFTING & GRATITUDE – "Join us to practice giving, gifting, and gratitude. With natural materials (bone, rock, leather), we will create small gifts. We will explore important factors of intention, meaning-making, and sincerity in the process of creating and sharing gifts with clients, co-workers, parents, visitors, and friends. Everyone will leave the workshop with a completed gift and the skills necessary to recreate the experience. Focus will be on both the hard skills of creating the jewelry and the larger process of growing a positive organizational culture." -Derek —

Why this presentation/workshop is of value to residential and wilderness therapy practitioners?

Giving gifts is a complex and important part of human interaction, helping to define relationships and strengthen bonds with family and friends. It is often the giver, rather than the recipient, who reaps the biggest gains from the act of gifting. Policy and procedures, program culture, and fear, can tempt people and programs to opt out of a gift giving culture altogether. Programs who refuse to accept or exchange gifts miss out on important and profound connections. In this presentation we will provide participants with the opportunity to make a gift and to “give it away”. We want participants to come away from this presentation encouraged to promote giving within their program cultures.

GRATITUDE BRACELET - GIVE IT AWAY

Preview:

The physical and emotional connection of carving a piece of nature into something of beauty, with the intention of giving that beauty away, to client/community can be a powerful experience. Using the experiential activity of spoon carving and connecting it to discussions pertaining to the various and importance processes of welcoming, including, & helping clients feel apart of the community or program. The metaphoric connections provided by the experiential learning activity, will assist participants of all backgrounds and ability in the use of “spoon carving” or other related mechanisms with their own particular client populations