Discussion topics

for

The healing wisdom of the forest:

timeless lessons of renewal, tranquility, and joy

For local or regional book clubs, college courses, informal gatherings, ranger talks, nature center workshops, & personal exploration

The Healing Wisdom of the Forest: Timeless Lessons of Renewal, Tranquility, and Joy offers 65 essays that can reduce your stress, improve your spirit, elevate your H.Q. (Happiness Quotient), and change your life…for the better! The experiences are amazing and the discoveries awe-inspiring. It is the author’s ultimate hope that you will take many opportunities throughout your life to visit magnificent forests and admire towering timbers; to touch their timeworn barks and gaze at their arching limbs. Your visits, it is certain, will transform you and open your eyes to some of Nature’s timeless lessons.

Following are several topics you may want to include in a group discussion of the book. Perhaps you are a member of a local book club, a student or instructor in a college class, a ranger or docent in a state or national park, or simply a family traveling to a National Park or wandering past some towering timbers. The ideas here will help you appreciate these botanical wonders – whether you see them in person or discuss them in any kind of formal or informal setting.

There are no “correct” responses to these topics – their design is simply to stimulate dialogue. By the same token, please feel free to “pick and choose” those thoughts that most interest you or the members of a group or class. There are more than enough here for every situation, encounter, or time frame (one evening or multiple class sessions). The intent is to foster robust conversations, support various points of view, and to positively engage everyone in a dynamic “meeting of the minds.”

Enjoy the discoveries;

savor the conversation!

1. discussion topics

  • Psychologists are reporting an increase in personal stress, a decrease in everyday joy, and an erosion of self-love. The cure? Just outside your front door.

  • How time in nature can raise your “Happiness Quotient”

  • The intersection of trees and personal growth: What being in the forest can teach us about tranquility, gratitude, and renewal

  • External recognition versus self-praise: Celebrating our personal progress

  • How spending time in nature can improve your mental wellbeing—long-term

  • Always leave a campsite better than you found it: Small gestures can make a huge positive impact

  • Acknowledging your burls: Unique accents on a life well lived

  • Count all your riches: Our greatest assets are right in front of us—absolutely free

  • Sharing gratitude with strangers: What the natural world can teach us about demonstrating love and appreciation to others

  • A community of roots: Like redwoods, we grow best in the company of others

  • Rejecting rejection: Rejection is just one person’s opinion—it is not an obituary

  • Slow down, life isn’t an emergency: Oaks grow large and impressive, yet they are in no hurry to reach the sky

An Invitation

Enhance your next book club meeting via a personal Zoom conversation with me - the author of The Healing Wisdom of the Forest: Timeless Lessons of Renewal, Tranquility, and Joy. I offer book clubs throughout the U.S. an opportunity to ask questions, chat about common discoveries, talk about the book, and share insights in a welcoming environment full of energy and passion. In short, you’ll have my undivided attention – an opportunity to interact with a “real live” author! The parameters are simple:

  • You would schedule a Zoom meeting in line with your group’s normal meeting day and time (and consultation with me).

  • Please note that I am in the Eastern time zone (Pennsylvania).

  • The Zoom meeting will last for approximately 20-30 minutes.

  • The meeting should be scheduled 6-8 weeks in advance of a meeting date (to avoid any potential scheduling conflicts and allow sufficient time to promote the event).

  • It will be assumed that each book club member participating in the Zoom meeting will have read the book prior to that meeting.

  • NOTE: There is absolutely no charge for the Zoom meeting! No fees! No payments! No honorarium!

 
 

If interested, please contact me for further information

and to schedule a meeting date for your book club: