Thank you.

On Tuesday nights a small handful of brave, contemplative humans come together to practice mindfulness. Over the years, some faces have changed, some have stayed the same - but the touch-point of group meditation has remained. A weekly reminder to check in with our body, mind and heart. A few sacred minutes to reflect and inquire on questions that spark a little more awareness, a bit more compassion and a growing sense of self-understanding.

This is a love note of sorts, a thank you to this practice and these people on this week when so many people in the United States turn their attention toward gratitude, no matter their religion, habits or political views.

When I started practicing mindfulness, I was in crisis like so many individuals who come to me for help implementing a mindfulness practice into their life. All of us looking for some stillness with a mind that worried, raced and felt a bit out of control.

I was introduced to mindfulness in 2008 and since then with practice tangible changes have entered my life:

• I talk to myself differently, with more kindness

• Perfectionism has become one voice - not THE voice in my mind

• I'm more tender with myself and others

• I feel capable to cope with the major storms of life

• When I do freeze and get caught in overwhelm or anxiety, it moves through more quickly and with less impact on my body

• And mostly, I savor my life - the small moments, the big moments, the messy ones, the beautiful ones - all of it is curriculum: an opportunity to become more aware, more loving.

  
  

This 2000+ year old practice of mindfulness meditation shows the same results with clients who become more vulnerable and able to be in healthy relationship with their feelings, more confident and trusting in their own capability, less harmed by their busy minds and more gentle with themselves and others. In a culture with so many quick fixes and self-improvement plans, I know for certain that loving awareness, with practice, can change lives for the better. It is slow, quiet work - it requires repetition, community, bravery and inquiry.

From the deepest place in my heart, I say thank you to each and every one of you who have chosen to bring some mindfulness into your life. The compassion, community and insights are invaluable, I think, to each one of us. I am so grateful.