Hello
Season's greetings and welcome to your December Livability Community Engagement E-Newsletter. In this edition:
- Reflection from Elizabeth Harrison - Giving thanks
- Join Livability for our virtual Christmas celebration event
- Boost your wellbeing with Livability's One Million Steps Challenge
- Merry Christmas from Livability
As part of Livability’s month of Giving Thanks, Chaplaincy Manager Elizabeth Harrison reflects on the value of being thankful in community.
Livability’s wellbeing theme this month is giving thanks. The research is clear - as well as improving our happiness, wellbeing and mood, gratitude also has the power to heal, energise and change our lives at a psychological,
emotional, relational and physical level. All due to the fact that gratitude activates our brain networks linked to pleasure, reward and connection.
In early December, a group of people with disabilities from the Livability community met online, as part of daily chaplaincy calls. We were celebrating the International Day of People with Disabilities. We read psalms of thanksgiving together, and took turns to share what we were thankful for, finishing
by praying a litany of thanksgiving. “For my housemates, thank you God.” It was a joyful occasion.
Gratitude, on an individual level, engages the mind and the memory in spiritual reflection. Research from Robert Emmons suggests it has two elements - affirmation and recognition.
- Gratitude begins with affirming the good. You notice and affirm that there is good in you, in others, and in the world around you. It’s saying “yes” to life. This doesn’t deny pain, but it’s about focusing on the good.
- Gratitude then expands to recognise that the source of this good is outside yourself. Often the good comes from other people, but it could be any source beyond you. It’s acknowledging that you have been given gifts, big and small, to help you in your
life.
But giving thanks in community, as we did online, offers yet more transformation. Hearing the profound gratitude of others, for things that I fail to notice, helped me to see my life from their perspective, and find new joy in ordinary things.
And as each person shared what they value, this new group understood each other more deeply. Listening to what someone else loves about their life and celebrating it with them, looking in hope to the times we can enjoy those things again,
brought a sense of connection across our differences.
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Join our virtual Christmas Celebration event
When: Thursday 17 December, 7-8pm
Where: Online
Our virtual celebration of Christmas will be more inclusive than ever before – filled with music, readings and a sermon from the Revd Haydon Spenceley. This festive event will feature very special celebrity guests, musical performers and our star guests - the people we support, across many Livability
services.
Did we mention it’s free to join?
Yes, that’s right, our gift to you is A Christmas Celebration, which will be free to watch. If you would like to make a donation, of course we would be hugely grateful for your support.
So register now, mark the date in your calendar, trim the Christmas tree, hang the decorations, dig out your Christmas jumper (or Christmas PJs) and join us for a fun
festive evening!
Boost your wellbeing with One Million Steps
Following on from this month’s thankfulness theme, next month's wellbeing focus is all about keeping active. For some added motivation, Livability are doing the “One Million Steps” challenge to raise funds for our work. If you can join us, by yourself or with a group, visit Livability's page on Millionsteps to sign up.
This venture is encouraging people to walk one million steps in 100 days, which adds up to over 500 miles. The challenge starts on 1 January 2021, and, what better way to shake off the cobwebs, get fit, start the New Year and lift our spirits by getting out.
If you want to do the challenge with a community, join the Facebook challenge page here to get tips, inspiration and motivation.
Merry Christmas from Livability
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