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Reviewing our Accomplishments August 17, 2003

 

Opening Words-

May we be reminded here of our highest aspirations,

And inspired to bring our gifts of love and service to

the altar of humanity.

May we know once again that we are not isolated beings

But connected, in mystery and miracle, to the universe.

To this community and to each other.

Hymnal #434

Check-in: Take one or two minutes to share the high point or the low point of your life since we last met.

Reading:

I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of my heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.

Helen Keller

Homework: Take five minutes (use a timer!) and make a list of your accomplishments within the past 5-10 years.

Questions:

  1. What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment in life thus far? What makes it great?
  2. Have any of your accomplishments occurred because of a previous "failure"?
  3. Have any of your accomplishments happened by accident or as a result of striving for something else?
  4. What was the period in your life in which you felt the most successful or accomplished?
  5. Which of your accomplishments has had the most influence on the lives of others? How?

Check-out

Share your thoughts about this session.

 

 

 

 

 

Closing Words

Shared Reading attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Pass out the numbered strips of paper with the reading to each group member. Ask each person to read the line which has been given to them starting with line 1.)
    1. To laugh often and much:

 

2. To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

 

3. To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

 

4. To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;

 

5. To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

 

6. To know even one life breathed easier because you have lived.

 

7. This is to have succeeded.