When I first started this blog almost 10 years ago, it was
as a way of dealing with my son’s diagnosis with type one diabetes and celiac.
I discovered a wonderful, supportive community of people dealing with both
issues, and found an outlet for my frustrations, celebrations, and discoveries.
As my son has grown into adulthood and taken on management of his conditions, I
have taken my sticky fingers off of the controls, while continuing to provide
support, recipes, and unconditional love.
And so time passes, all the children get older (although I think I am
staying the same age, right? RIGHT?) and find their independence.
A few years ago I started reading about mindfulness. I
attended a workshop or two, took a few classes, and started to notice a change
in my outlook and behavior. After so many years of worry and constant giving of
myself, mindfulness has been a healing salve to my mind and emotions.
Mindfulness is brain training; it goes hand in hand with being physically fit.
When I began to notice the changes in my self that came from regular
mindfulness practice, I realized the importance of teaching mindfulness to
children.
I have now taken three classes through Mindful Schools:
Mindfulness Fundamentals, Mindfulness Educator Essentials and Mindfulness for
Difficult Emotions, in addition to many different workshops on the intersection
of mindfulness and education. I started working with a few students at my
school last school year, just 15 minutes a week, and saw changes in behavior
and focus even with that small bit of instruction.
Mindfulness, as I have been taught, has a lot to do with
sitting quietly. But I also practice mindfulness when I am out for a walk, when
I am driving, when in a conversation – almost any time. When I was taking
poetry courses in grad school, I used to write every day, just write everything
I noticed in that day. I used those notice moments to build poems; they were
crystal clear fragments, which on their own were brief, but beautiful. When
strung together into a poem, they often pointed to a theme, or a deeper
meaning, which I didn’t know existed until the moments harmonized on the page.
I have not written in this blog for a long time. I
foundered, no longer needing it as a crutch to help me deal with issues
surrounding chronic illness. But now I would like to use it to string together
notice moments. Sitting on the grass, still warm after the sun goes down,
searching the sky for the perseid meteors, and surrendering to the deep feeling
of connection with the living world.
Watching my child laugh freely at a movie, lost in the story. Smiling after a conversation with a stranger
in the parking lot at the mall – a twinkling of kindness and contact in our
busy world.
What have you noticed today? What stayed in your heart? I
look forward to the clarity and connections.
