-
Welcome & Overview
-
Intros
- Grounding Practice
- Notes
-
Intro to Ross Gay
-
Prompts, Reflection, & Breakouts
-
Group Share & Closing
1. Confidentiality
What’s shared here stays here. Respect the privacy and vulnerability of others. Share only your own reflections.
2. Listen Actively
Be fully present when others speak. Avoid interrupting or planning your response.
3. Speak for Yourself
Use “I” statements to share your experience. Offer advice only when invited.
4. Stay Open and Curious
Approach everything with curiosity, not judgment. There are no wrong answers.
5. Share the Space
Make room for everyone’s voice. Be mindful of how much you’re speaking.
6. Be Present
Silence distractions and stay focused on the session.
7. Take Care of Yourself
Step away, hydrate, or rest as needed. This is your time to restore, honor your needs.
8. Embrace Imperfection
There’s no need for perfection. Creativity thrives in the messy and real.
9. Respect Time
Return from breaks on time and keep your contributions concise.
10. Lead with Kindness
Assume positive intent and respond with kindness & generosity.
Throughout the retreat, participants will have the opportunity to write thoughtful notes for each other—reflections, observations, or encouragements inspired by our shared experience. These notes can be written at your own pace over the course of the five sessions.
At the end of the retreat, these messages will be collected and shared with each participant as a way to celebrate the connections and insights we’ve cultivated together. This optional practice is a meaningful way to deepen our collective experience and leave with a tangible reminder of our time together.
On the last day e-mail your notes to hello@skypunch.world
His book The Book of Delights is a collection of short, meditative essays chronicling his year-long practice of noticing and writing about small joys—what he calls “delights.” Beginning on his forty-second birthday, Gay set out to write one “miniature essay” each day for a year, crafting what he affectionately terms “essayettes.” With a voice that blends humor, curiosity, and deep emotional resonance, Gay invites readers to slow down and savor the extraordinary moments hidden in the ordinary, transforming everyday life into a practice of joyful attention.
Through his writing, Gay shows how gratitude can be a creative practice, a way to deepen our connection to ourselves and others while finding restoration in the act of noticing.
In Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, Gay creates a vivid tapestry of appreciation for life’s joys, losses, and connections, showing how gratitude can be both a creative practice and a restorative act.
Ross Gay’s Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude:
A Model for Savoring Life
Slowing Down and Savoring Life:
Gay’s ability to "catalog delights" demonstrates how naming and appreciating small wonders—a ripe fruit, a fleeting interaction, a moment of stillness—can transform our perspective. By doing so, he shows how the ordinary can become extraordinary.
Gratitude as a Bridge:
Gay reminds us that gratitude isn’t about bypassing life’s difficulties but about embracing them with openness and wonder. Gratitude deepens connections—with ourselves, others, and the world around us. It can ignite creativity by encouraging us to look more closely at the details of our lives for inspiration.
Gratitude as Rest:
Gratitude
invites us to pause and find rest in reflection. By focusing on what we cherish, we allow ourselves to step out of the relentless pace of daily life and into a space of presence and renewal. Whether it’s savoring a quiet moment, appreciating a kind gesture, or acknowledging personal growth, gratitude offers a way to feel grounded and restored. Gay’s work reminds us that rest doesn’t have to be elaborate—it can be found in the simplicity of noticing and naming what sustains us.
Gratitude as a Practice:
Framing gratitude as a practice, rather than a fleeting feeling, aligns it with rest and renewal. Reflecting on what we cherish cultivates spaciousness and presence, fostering a sense of restoration.
Invitation Through Gay’s Work:
His poetry and essays invite us to find joy in the act of noticing. Gratitude becomes an active, sustaining practice that fosters creativity, connection, rest, and appreciation.
How can we savor gratitude as a way of coming home to ourselves?
How can this practice feel creative and restorative?
Consider your gratitudes—unabashedly and without hesitation. What comes to mind when you think about what you are grateful for?
It could be big or small: people, moments, sensations, or surprises. Write without judgment, dumping your thoughts onto the page. Allow yourself to list everything that brings even a flicker of joy, warmth, or appreciation.
This is your space to honor what delights you...messy, ordinary, or extraordinary. Let it pour out, unfiltered.
Take a moment to notice what’s happening within you as you reflect on your gratitudes.
- What emotions arise as you list your gratitudes?
- What do you feel as you read them over?
- How does focusing on gratitude change the way you feel right now—in your body, your mood, or your thoughts?
- Which gratitudes feel especially meaningful to you?
Imagine creating a catalog to document the things you’re grateful for—a physical or digital archive that reflects your unique perspective.
For the next five minutes, visualize and describe your catalog. What would it look like? Is it practical? Or purely fantastical? Would it be a page in your notes app, an are.na channel, a photo album on your phone? Or maybe a zine, a printed poster, or post-its on the wall?
What would you name it?
Think about how this catalog would feel to interact with. What format would best capture your gratitude and make revisiting it a restorative, meaningful experience? Write freely, letting your imagination take shape.
Now imagine your gratitude catalog not just as an archive, but as a restorative tool:
Freewrite about how this accessing this catalog could help you when life feels overwhelming or draining. Would engaging with your entries ground you, inspire you, or ease your mind?
Consider the details: What colors, textures, forms, or layouts would make it feel soothing? Would it include soft visuals, calming sounds, or tactile elements? What size is it? Where will you keep it?