In the world today we spend a lot of time juggling schedules, relationships, budgets, attention and energy. The essence of those constraints were certainly familiar to our ancestors even hundreds of thousands of years ago, however we don't consider them today with the same critical eyes of our forebearers. We have a large network of buffers between us and the consequences of our poor judgments or bad decisions. Our ancestors, on the other hand, knew that a mistaken expenditure of time & energy could very well mean not seeing the next sunrise - for them, maybe their family & friends, or even their whole tribe. The fact that so many of our ancestors spent their vital time and energy on giving thanks and acknowledging gratitude as far more than just a transactional response deserves a much closer look.

It was a year ago when I first began really thinking about this, and many conversations with former instructors and friends from the Tracker School followed. We'd all been around Tom Brown Jr and his school for decades, and experienced him as the man on stage as well as behind the scenes. We heard what he preached and we saw what he practiced when it came to giving thanks and gratitude. And the essence of those ideas is certainly familiar to any who'd read Tom's books or been to his school; they were woven throughout the teachings and stories of Tom and his own mentor Stalking Wolf, the Lipan Apache elder (born around 1874 in the mountains of northern Mexico) who he called simply "Grandfather". In the stories Tom told of him, Grandfather's reverence for gratitude and the frequency with which he gave thanks for the abundance around him and his connection to the natural world were very clear. Gratitude was a state Grandfather lived in.

Three questions were pretty clear as we began discussing this:

- Why did so many of our ancestors put their precious time & energy towards gratitude practices?

- What were the key aspects of Grandfather's concept of thanks giving, and what can we learn from them?

- How did these noble ideals of Grandfather translate into the everyday human experience of Tom, and what lessons can we find and benefit from in our own lives?

From there, the conversations & questions kept expanding within & without. Going back in time to trace the origins and use of words like thanksgiving and gratitude. Tracking how their meanings altered from a "life orientation" in many ancient indigenous societies, then gradually falling to a simple "interpersonal expression" and building back up through an "internal moral disposition" to again be considered by modern psychologists as a "way of being" - a general appreciation of what is meaningful to us. Things like being alive, experiences (both good and bad) from which we grow, contact with nature, the value of being valued, etc.

Gratitude describes a relational state with the universe rather than a transactional response.

In this online class we will be exploring these observations and questions to discover what works for each of us. We'll also get into the various types and effectiveness of gratitude interventions, modern perspectives on why gratitude is so beneficial to us as flourishing human beings, how to maintain an awareness of gratitude when life is punching you in the face, how to guard against gratitude overdosing (yes, it's a thing), and maybe most important of all - stories from folks who've put in the dirt time with gratitude and come up with positive results and useful failures. Presenters for the week will include (alphabetically): Tom Agresti, Charlie Blackwell, Jorge Brana, Ruth Ann Colby Martin, Carmen Corradino, Matt Corradino, Sarah Fontaine, Kyle Keller, Bill Marple, Dave Ott, Evan Pritchard, Shannon Thomas, Randy Walker, and Jon Young.

This class will include both prerecorded interviews and live presentations, as well as some discussion times as a class and in smaller 3 person groups. If you can't make it live, you can review each session's video prior to the start of the next session and anytime thereafter.

There is no set fee for this class, we're instead just asking for a contribution as you see fit. Seemed appropriate given the subject matter. Please join us for a week guaranteed to make you consider gratitude and the giving of thanks with a new perspective. May also cause occasional spontaneous feelings of good will.

To register, enter your name and email address below. No credit card info or other payment info is required; it just adds you to the list to which we’ll email the class meeting link. After you click “Submit”, you’ll see a page where you can make a contribution if you wish.