Mindful February 2023

We are not immune from burnout here at Mindful. It takes constant communication for our small but mighty team to feel supported, balanced, fair, healthy—to create the psychological safety necessary for all of us to show up, make mistakes, fix them… and be real together so we can make quality things together. We use weekly “Too Hot To Handle” check-ins to take each others’ temperature, see who’s “on fire,” and discuss how we can spread the work around to make sure we’re hot enough to keep us warm, not burn us out. Sometimes our systems fail us. Sometimes we take on too much. It takes all of us working together to maintain compassionate systems that support our thriving at work. This New Year, rather than offering you a “New Year,…

What did you grow up doing—in your family, culture, or community—that helps you feel mindful? Hiking and cross-country skiing in the forest katakerley Practicing gratitude! vivekvasantha Baking/cooking intendedwell Sitting outside watching the clouds and just being still dr.bethanyj Singing positivepowercoach Church gratefulkev1964 What activity helps you feel present and grounded? Meditation maslow40 Looking at the water rolling over rocks at the beach access_stress_support Decluttering, cleaning, journaling kadikoybornova How often do you meditate? 53% Daily 26% Weekly 5% Monthly 16% Never What song helps you feel present and grounded? “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed mindfulskatergirl “What Do I Know” by Ed Sheeran mjwatson4 “Answer: Love Myself” by BTS ella_lama “Living in the Moment” by Jason Mraz esin_alptekin “Annie’s Song” by John Denver wickthechick “Kiss of Life” by Sade calmbuddybox “Hallelujah” by…

DIAL FOR GRATITUDE Call the Gratitude Circle Hotline for three choices: Listen to the message of the day, leave a message thanking a frontline worker, or text a message of gratitude. With your choice, you can savor a moment of gratitude and share it through messages displayed at hotline.gratcircle.com. Najma Khorrami, founder at Gratitude Circle, says this started as a way to show appreciation to frontline workers and to move toward a more grateful world. “I hope anyone who reads a message shares it and sees the value in it,” she says. “I hope they get a reward from it, a boost in their morale.” STORIES THAT SPARK WONDER Journalist Ambar Castillo and scientist/writer Brittany Trang are the 2022-2023 recipients of the new Sharon Begley Science Reporting Fellowship. Throughout her…

FISH TALE When Kira, a college freshman, learned she couldn’t bring her pet betta fish Theo on her flight home for the summer, Southwest Air employees Ismael and his fiancée Jamee offered to fish-sit. After four months of receiving text and photo updates of the happy fish, Kira went back to school and was reunited with Theo. GOOD TALK Instead of turning in the 16-year-old who had mugged his nephew, Winston Davis had a conversation with him and learned that the teen had no parents, job, or education. So they made a deal: If the boy returned the backpack he stole, Davis would use his community connections to help the boy change his path. Since then, Davis says the offers for money, education, and mentorship have flooded in. MOUSE HOUSE…

GROWING UP KIND Mindfulness interventions using kindness- and compassion-based meditation may be linked to improved well-being and behavior. Researchers at King’s College London reviewed 10 studies with 807 youth where encouraging kindness or compassion for others improved stress, anxiety, depression, negative mood, behavior and attention problems, and mindfulness. Analyses of studies using self-compassion meditation found significant positive changes in stress, anxiety, depression, negative mood, mindfulness, self-compassion, life satisfaction, resilience, gratitude, and curiosity. Gains in prosocial behavior and cognitive function were also identified in two studies. Overall, results indicate that kindness and compassion can benefit mental health and well-being in youth. These effects were generally stronger in research with younger, healthy children and those that used experienced meditation teachers. Self-compassion meditation created significant positive changes in stress, anxiety, resilience, gratitude, and…

Q I know I need to rest—but I’m so stressed out I can’t manage to relax. How can I access the kind of relaxation that will allow me to actually rest and release stress? A Stress, trauma, and tension can hamper our ability to rest and relax. Relaxation is a practice, like any other. Try daily relaxation drills—take 20 minutes once or twice daily to deeply relax. 1 Start by sitting upright and comfortly, dropping your gaze. Don’t force yourself to relax, but simply sit quietly and allow your mind to float freely until it settles down. 2 Let thoughts come and go as they please. Don’t exert yourself by trying to block these thoughts. Don’t dwell on them, either. 3 Stay with your breath like the waves of the…