Also known as: “The Rock and the Mint”–a 15 minute life lesson
Gratitude is so closely related to joy! Have you noticed that? What you focus on grows! When we focus on our blessings, then it is easier to notice our abundance and that brings gratitude, joy and even generosity. All of us need a reminder and truly need to practice thankfulness every day! Why does discontentment grow? When we focus on what we lack, it is easy to quickly give room to grouchy emotions. Especially when playing the horrible game of comparison. Focusing constantly on material goods or circumstances we want next can certainly breed dissatisfaction. So let’s try this quick lesson that teaches us a thoughtful and powerful lesson on gratitude.
I have used this lesson in small groups the size of 5-7 people and in big groups of 60 people, it is adaptable! I taught it one year at a girl’s camp and by the end of the day nearly 400 people had received this lesson. It packs a punch!
I feel confident I read this idea in a book about a decade ago, but I’m not sure which, so if you read this and feel like it’s your idea—thank you! It has really worked! Hooray!
So this is how it goes. I will narrate this partially as though I am sharing it with my family. 🙂
Hey let’s take a little walk together. We won’t be going far, but I think we might learn a few things on this walk. First of all, everyone needs to wear closed toed shoes. Everyone have them? Perfect. Okay, now everyone please take one of these small rocks and stick it in your shoe (or you can go outside and they can choose their own rock–try to make sure they are not too big, definitely smaller than a quarter and maybe closer to the size of a nickel in diameter).
Great! Now stick that rock in your shoe. Got it?
With kiddos, you will immediately get commentary that it’s not comfortable and it hurts. Maybe help them to put the rock in the place they think they can handle it best. It will be uncomfortable, but try to position it in a place that is causing the least amount of discomfort, perhaps near the arch or near the toes. You are ready to start your journey!
Almost as an afterthought, when you are headed out the door–pull some mints out of your pocket and pass them out as a showing of morale. “Hey look I have some mints, there’s one for everyone.” Start your walk. Perhaps you will travel about a block, maybe 10 houses round trip until you feel that the point has been made according to the age of your group. When I did this lesson as a beginning to a class with 60 teenagers, we walked closer to 200 yards.
Along the journey listen to what people are saying. From my experience, kids really start to talk about how it is pinching their toes or rubbing their foot. The complaints are contagious. Some kids will handle it better than others. Listen to them and observe how the complaints catch on and sometimes escalate.
Upon returning home or to your starting place congratulate everyone on a job well done, and give them permission to take out the rock and toss it into the yard (the landscape rocks or maybe into your hand–if you have any hooligan kiddos) Hooray! You did it. Now get somewhere comfortable and talk about your experience.
This is the reflection on what you have collectively learned. Let them do the talking as much as possible and you can restate a summary if needed. Talking through their experience helps people to process it and be open to insight.
Ask them what they experienced. Someone will often start talking about the discomfort of the situation. Others may observe that at first it wasn’t that big of a deal, but as they went on, the rock really began to annoy and become increasingly uncomfortable. Try to let as many as possible have a chance to express their experience in a 5-8 minute time.
Then as soon as several people have had a chance to tell you their aches and pains and often kids will create analogies that are amazing, this is all a part of the learning process. Then ask the group what they thought of the mint in their mouth. Often that little sweetness has gone unnoticed. Ask them if they ever tuned into the minty taste or the cool refreshing feel it gave them? Get feedback from them on this. Ask them to draw conclusions on what can be learned. Ask them if complaining made the situation easier. (Powerful lesson on complaining right there!)
There are many analogies that can be drawn from this little lesson, but I will tell you one of my favorites: Life is full of difficulties and also full of sweet blessings. On which will you focus? Sometimes we hone in so tightly on the rock in our shoe, we completely miss the enjoyment of the mint in our mouth. Don’t miss it! Rocks and mints are definitely part of everyone’s journey.
Once you have taught this lesson to your family, your classroom or perhaps in Sunday School you can always refer back to their experience. Are we focusing on the rock in our shoe or the mint in our mouth?
Small and mighty lesson. 🙂
Love that! We all need to be thankful!!
Kristy! Right?!? It is definitely worth our focus everyday! Thanks for coming by!