Mindful June 2022

I love watching bird murmurations move across open fields in rural Pennsylvania where I live. Starlings flying independently as one organism, stretching away from each other and then pulling back together. Each bird responsible for finding its way as part of the whole. As I write to you from my kitchen, there’s a war displacing millions of people on the other side of the world. Temperatures in Antarctica are 70 degrees higher than normal. Millions of people are rejecting toxicity in the workplace and leaving their jobs. Social issues continue to divide us. I often get letters from readers asking how they’re supposed to show up right now. What can they do? I have no answers, of course. What I can offer is that it’s helpful to drop in and…

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What does self-compassion mean to you? Being as gentle and understanding with myself as I am with the people I care most about. Jane McWilliams Being able to say that was/this is hard, and yet I am OK. Wendy L. Nurturing my inner child, showing myself the love and patience I give my children (most of the time) thehappybase Lovingly accepting my imperfections, reconciling with my self-saboteur, and holding space for myself when I’m feeling inadequate. sass_allard Relating to ourselves with kindness, feeling connected to others, and being aware of our experience at any given moment. mindfulness_music_ and_health Constantly and gently reminding yourself that you deserve to live a beautiful and intentional life driven by you, opposed to one built on the unconscious fears of others. inthismomentbox Asking ourselves what…

YOU HAVE A DAD IN ME After walking his own daughter down the aisle, Dan Levins, a 45-year-old hairstylist from East Tennessee, couldn’t imagine anyone missing out on that special moment so he took to TikTok, offering to stand in as a dad to any LGBTQIA+ couples who were missing their parents on their special day. The video, which has now amassed over 60,000 views, has created a supportive network with a Facebook group of 35,000 members. “I thought I was creating a group for people to physically connect but there are many more virtual connections happening now than walking someone down the aisle. We’ve had a few weddings, but the majority of what’s happening in the group has been people building friendships and family,” Levins told Mindful. STITCHING TOGETHER…

GUITAR HERO A Colorado teen named Fallon, who has Williams Syndrome and a deep love of music, often visited J.B. Hart Music Co. to play guitar. So when an anonymous stranger gifted Fallon his dream guitar, it’s no surprise he smiled from ear-to-ear—a sweet moment caught on camera that’s now captured the hearts of thousands who’ve seen it on the music store’s Facebook page. GOOD DOG When Alfie Kitson’s terrier Millie made national news dropping litter in trash bins in Hereford, England, the dog unknowingly performed another good deed by reconnecting her owner with his siblings. Kitson’s sister, who he’d lost touch with 20 years ago, saw his name in the news. She and their brother were then able to find him and reunite after years apart. SLICE OF LIFE…

CALM KIDS Taking just a few slow, deep breaths can help calm young children, according to researchers at Stanford University. They randomly assigned 342 young children to either a breath training or a control group. The breath training group watched a one-minute animated video teaching them how to slowly inhale by pretending to smell a flower, and exhale by pretending to blow out a candle. The control group watched a video with similar animated images but no breathing exercise. Children’s physiological stress was measured using two biomarkers: heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). RSA is the changing pace of the heartbeat when a person inhales and exhales. Higher levels of RSA are linked to increased stress resilience. The study found that even one minute of deep breathing can help…