Mother/Wife/Video Artist/Certified InterPlay Leader

Gratitude is not our default behavior. Sometimes, it’s easier to focus on what’s going wrong in our lives and in the world than it is to recognize the good. Lucky for us, gratitude is a choice we can make, a posture we can embody, an expression we can practice. We may even choose to play with our gratitude. However, there are also “gratitude traps” to avoid – gratitude that is inauthentic, shame-based or comparative. How do we know if our gratitude is authentic, free of shame and comparison? In this time of Thanksgiving, let’s explore gratitude together and see what we notice. Maryellen May will share her experience with a practice called InterPlay and a couple of easy, playful forms. These forms do not require much effort and can help us access our authentic gratitude and better connect with ourselves and each other. (The next InterPlay workshop is December 6).

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Maryellen May is a mother, wife, video artist and certified InterPlay leader, who grew up in Bloomington. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Peace and Global Studies from Earlham College, and received her Master’s degree in Journalism from Indiana University. Maryellen has been dancing all of her life. She enjoys daily walks with the family dog (Bowie) and shares an office with a cat named Smokey. When Maryellen bumped into InterPlay in 2018, she believed that she had found a piece of her puzzle. Over the last five years, she has had the privilege of experiencing InterPlay with people from all over the world, both in person and on Zoom.