Activity 1.2.3 Determine Your Value

Purpose

To present an opportunity for participants to speak about their value

Materials

A candle or flashlight

Time

45 mins

Method

1. Have participants sit in a circle on the floor together. Turn off all the lights and close the drapes or blinds on the windows. Explain that a lighted candle or flashlight will be passed on to a person who will then speak and continue around the circle.
2. Inform the participants that they are to imagine they are trapped in a submarine at the bottom of the ocean. All the electricity is out. The only escape is through the pressure hatch at the top of the submarine. It will take time to get to the pressure hatch and air is running out. Only the first few will make it.
3. Each participant will then take the candle or flashlight and tell why he/she should be included in the first few to go. The participants should tell what good things they have to give to the world and what plans they have for their lives, or how much others need them.
4. Facilitators should set the tone by going first and telling the group why they should be a survivor. After doing so, pass the light on to the next participant in the circle.
5. After everyone has spoken, take a vote to determine which four should go first.

Questions to talk about after the exercise:

• Did you have a difficult time telling good things about yourself?
• Do you think that the person who said nothing or very little about themselves should be left behind? Why?
• How did people decide who to vote for?
• Have you thought about your life plans before or do you live for the moment?
• If someone told you that they wanted to commit suicide, what would you tell them?