Dinners with a Difference - Joy

Dinners with a Difference is a facilitated discussion over a meal that dips beneath the surface of everyday conversations.

Come solo or bring someone that you'd like to get to know better. 

This month's topic is JOY.

Joy is a profound, often fleeting emotion that brings lightness to the heart and warmth to the soul. It can arise from the simplest moments—laughter with a friend, the beauty of nature, or even an unexpected act of kindness. Unlike happiness, joy is not tied to external circumstances but emerges from within, often when we least expect it. Yet, it can also be hard to hold onto in the midst of life’s challenges. In this dinner, we’ll explore how joy shows up in our lives, how we can cultivate it, and the role it plays in our overall wellbeing.

Joy is a powerful force that impacts our health, relationships, and outlook on life. In tough times, it can offer resilience, shifting our focus from what’s missing to what’s present, and helping us appreciate life’s simple moments. Joy is contagious—it strengthens connections, deepens bonds, and creates communities where people thrive, not just survive. Cultivating joy is about embracing life's richness, finding gratitude even in challenges, and allowing joy to exist alongside pain.

Some see apathy or indifference as the opposite of joy, viewing it as a lack of emotional engagement that can hinder connection. In a world that often feels numb to joy, apathy can block us from truly connecting with ourselves and others. This dinner invites you to reflect on how joy and apathy show up in your life and how fostering joy can help counteract emotional distance.

This dinner warmly invites anyone curious about the role of joy in their life. Together, we’ll explore the meaning, sources, and sustaining power of joy.

• What does joy look like to you? 
• How do you find joy in difficult times? 
• What role does joy play in our wellbeing? 
• Can we train our brain to see joy more readily? 
• How can we share and spread joy within our communities?

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Your ticket includes a selection of entrees and mains, with dietary needs thoughtfully catered for. Drinks will be available for purchase on the night, ensuring a well rounded dining experience. To enrich the conversation, a prerequisite questionnaire will be emailed to attendees the week before the event. We kindly ask that you complete the short form prior to attending.

With the entire restaurant exclusively reserved for our dinner, we'll have the freedom to express ourselves authentically and engage in vibrant dialogue without hesitation. 

PLEASE NOTE: This month's dinner location will be Living Room, Keira St, Wollongong

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Feedback from previous participants

"Great concept, with an excellent facilitator leading a group of strangers down unexpected paths. It’s a safe space for discussion of everything from the personal to the whimsical."

"Dive in and give it a go. So worthwhile, stimulating and full of insightful conversation."

"A great night where you get to eat delicious food with a diverse array of interesting people all open to deep conversations. As well as the deep thoughtful conversations, there are always loads of laughs."

"It’s an opportunity to drop your guard - the normalities of day to day, and any roles/responsibilities. It’s quite liberating to discuss meaningful topics as a (relatively) anonymous person and speak truthfully without a filter. How bloody refreshing!"

"Chatting with random strangers was really fun."

"An incredibly positive experience of new people and new ideas - without pressure to be anything but oneself."

"Gretel creates a safe and inclusive space where people can be seen and heard amongst a group of complete strangers! Conversation is gently guided with good humour with a nod to complexity and nuance. Dialogue is liberated and reinvented in a fun and casual atmosphere."

"So, those questions you have about the way the world is right now, and your place in it, and how you would like people you can share that with, and how you are feeling about all that? Bring all of it. That's what Dinners with a Difference is for."