Showing posts with label mindfulness. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Inspiring Mindfulness
Today I'm thinking about mindfulness.
About being in the moment.
About savoring every second.
About the power of deep breathing.
You see, chaos has come calling a lot lately;
October tends to be like that.
Lots of planning, lots of running around.
Football games.
Band competitions.
Homecoming Weekend.
Character Counts Week.
Red Ribbon Week.
Fall festivals.
At-risk data collection.
SOCKtober.
Halloween.
But just because chaos invites us in
doesn't mean we have to go, right?
I found myself helping some fifth-grade girls
breathe through their drama today,
and wondered why I don't do more of that for myself.
Breathe.
Just breathe.
And be.
Just be.
I often wake up craving a nap.
To get away.
To relax.
To restore.
And I think it's a wake-up call
to do a better job with mindfulness and self-care.
So in my research, I've found these resources:
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In case you missed my guest post at Free Spirit Press last week on the importance of teaching fairness, click {here} to go there.
And, as an update in our personal journey,
Joshua's high school marching band
qualified as one of the 39 6A bands to march in the
Texas State Marching Band Competition.
So next Tuesday, they'll take their show called
Dot To Dot
to San Antonio to perform in the Alamodome.
As the dots on the field during this year's poetry-in-motion unfold,
engaged spectators are visually inspired with reminders to
Look Forward,
Trust In Something,
Follow Your Heart,
Connect The Dots.
We are so proud of their hard work,
their determination and drive,
their passion and perseverance
in their quest for the best
and we thank the dedicated directors,
the proud and very patient parents,
and the valued volunteers
for giving of their time and talent
to be that village that every child needs.
Good luck, Band.
Monday, April 4, 2016
The Practice of Mindfulness
Today I'm excited because I'm on assignment again at Free Spirit and, this time, I'm talking about the practice of mindfulness. Click the graphic below to go there and read my guest post.
What are some ways that you help yourself stay in the moment?
Then, before the week is out, challenge yourself to actively notice
five new things about a loved one, a favorite activity, or a place that you frequent. Predict what might surprise you. How might doing this more often help you? How does being in the moment and getting in touch with all of your senses enrich your daily habits and routines?
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Being Strong
As I close my eyes for the night, I've got this weekend's renewal retreat on my mind. To be perfectly honest, I didn't want to go. I told myself it wouldn't be the same without my cousin Amy, who went with me last year. I told myself that I didn't have the energy to go. I told myself I wasn't feeling strong enough right now, to be social, to connect, and to share. The truth is that I needed to go, Amy or no Amy, to find that energy, to regain that strength. It wasn't by accident that I wore my Ellie's Explorers shirt to climb the Challenge Tower yesterday.
 |
| Click the t-shirt to support Ellie's Stroll Against Epilepsy. |
Ellie is one of my heroes;
She was on my heart as I ascended that fifty-foot tower.
I decided to take the climb slow and steady,
to stay in the moment.
I noted the breeze as I rested on the ledge
and was keenly aware of the warm sun on my skin.
Sometimes those blocks seemed just out of reach
and at one point, I almost said enough.
That's when the coach on the belay pointed out that
I was only a body's length from reaching my goal.
So despite shaky legs and weakened hands, I kept going.
You'll have to take my word about the breathtaking view at the top.
Life's a climb like that.
Sometimes things get challenging and it seems like our goals are
just out of reach.
But we forge on,
cheered on by those who love us,
stopping to rest when we need to,
and making sure
to be in the moment,
to breathe in the journey,
to enjoy the view along the way.
Thank you, Ellie, for showing me what
being strong
looks like, sounds like & feels like.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
What's Your Anti-Drug?
Today I'm excited because I've worked it out with my friend Shelley to give all of the readers who commented on Friday's post {10/23} a copy of her
Mindful Bodies, Mindful Learning packet.
If you left a comment on Friday or Saturday and would like a packet, please email me {bgruener5@gmail.com} and I'll send you the digital file. Thank you, Shelley, for your kindness!
Now, let's be Frank ... how cute is this visual display?
 |
| Isn't it cool how much "chains" and "change" sound alike? |
My friend Terri Brady came to Bales last week to help us kick off Red Ribbon Week with this clever creation. Our plan is to send home red strips of paper so that students and their families can answer the question:
What's Your Anti-Drug?
Then we'll link them together to make a red chain border.
I can't wait to read what their anti-drugs are.
Visits from our PALs start Monday, so I know the halls will be abuzz as those teenage mentors fill our campus with friendship and love.
School family members will get a mustache and a pencil because
We 'mustache' you to be drug-free.
On Tuesday we'll wear our favorite jersey or team shirt to
Team up against drugs.
On Wednesday, our role models from Friendswood High School will lead our Hometown Heroes Pep Rally before school. That's always a fan favorite that supercharges us and sends us soaring because
We've got the power to be drug-free.
On Thursday we'll Give drugs the slip wearing slippers, of course.
And Friday will find us dressing up in 50s garb or our costumes, both of which will say Drug-free is a nifty way to be!
So we've got a busy week ahead as we celebrate Red Ribbon Week
and say yes to healthy choices. Click {here} to download the mini-poster freebies that we'll be putting around campus, like this one from the creative
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| Click graphic for source and freebie download at Teachers Pay Teachers. |
Her creations are adorable, so please take a look at her store and support this seller next time you need something. Thank you, Shelly, for generously sharing your time and talent with us!
How will you and your school family celebrate this week?
Thursday, May 28, 2015
When You're Root Bound
It was bound to happen,
this natural part of life.
You put down roots, deep deep roots, over time,
and look at what happens.
This schefflera has been in this pot
for about as long as I've been at my current school.
Minding its own business, doing its job.
Growing taller and going deeper
with every moment, day, month, year that passes. And now, it's
root bound.
Check out the way its purple roots are sprawling into the pea gravel.
It has outgrown its home.
It's not like it happened overnight,
but this morning for the first time I noticed it.
Have I been too busy to pay attention?
Maybe I just wasn't ready to see what it needed.
Or strong enough to do anything about it.
Clearly it's time for a transplant.
It's bound to hurt a little lot,
when it has to leave the comforts of its blue pot.
But this plant will improve, be better, thrive
in a bigger space with more room to grow.
Makes me think of graduation.
A bittersweet sea of blue.
Marking a milestone.
An ending.
And a beginning.
At once happy ... and sad.
My transplant really hit close to home
at Kindergarten graduation last night.
 |
| Look at the adorableness I found in my archives. |
I was holding my own, meeting and greeting,
welcoming our families to this celebration,
basking in the delight of my littles as they'd squeal my name,
as if they hadn't seen me in forever.
And then, the reminder:
So, this will be your last Kindergarten graduation.
Time to transplant.
What are you waiting for; let's get growing.
And I couldn't catch my breath.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Deeper.
Deeper.
Deeper.
It felt as though someone with a sharp, sheering shovel was
digging deep, really deep,
to get me out of that blue clay pot.
But I'm comfortable in here.
Hey, be gentle.
Really comfortable.
Ouch.
I'll do better.
Stop it.
Please.
Needless to say, but I will anyway,
the flood gates opened and I spent the night sobbing.
My poor husband didn't know what to do.
The good news?
There are therapeutic benefits to crying your eyes out.
Yay.
It was a big ugly cry,
'cause I'm gonna miss that small blue pot.
A lot.
So when I woke up with a puffy face and a dull headache,
I decided to take a mental health day,
to rest, regroup, and reflect on my new normal.
Am I eager, excited even, to move to the bigger space
to nurture the seeds we've planted?
Absolutely.
But is my heart breaking a bit
as I say goodbye to and let go of the familiar?
No doubt.
So for today, I'm going to join these mindful little leaders
and Just Breathe.
Well, I may take a walk, a bath, and a nap, too.
What strategies do you use to survive thrive through those transplants
when you find you're root bound?
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
The Petals On Your Flower
Today I'm delighted to share this Texas wildflower
that begs the inquiry: What's blooming in your garden?
A second-grade friend drew this purple beauty for me,
and she added words that she thought I'd connect with and like.
The connection it made for me is that all of our behaviors
begin with words. You've probably seen this maxim before,
on a poster maybe, but Sylvia Duckworth's illustration
really hits it home for me.
And I'm reminded of a technique I learned years ago in counseling classes called Thought Switching. Its original intent is to help people exchange their anxiety-producing thoughts of failure with hope-filled thoughts of confidence, but I've learned that we can use Thought Switching as a way to monitor pretty much
any of our thoughts.
Because thoughts become words.
If I'm thinking I'm a failure, it's not long before words like I can't do this or This is impossible come out of my mouth. If we're mindful of the unhealthy negativity behind this thought, we'll switch our thinking to something positive before it can become words, words that could hurt us or someone else.
Because words become actions.
The six steps to effective Thought Switching.
1. List as many negative {I'm a failure} thoughts as you can think of.
2. For each of these thoughts, write a coping counter-thought directly related to the area of negativity {I can do this, maybe just not yet!}. By doing so, you are setting up the habit of changing negative thoughts to positive ones.
3. Write down your new coping thoughts on small cards you'll carry with you.
4. Choose several activities that you do every day, like washing your hands, brushing your teeth, or combing your hair; each time, just before you do one of these activities, read the top card carefully and say the positive reframe to yourself. Preferably out loud. A few times. Then carry on with the activity.
5. When you are in a real-life scenario in which you're about to think negative thoughts, deliberately repeat and follow your positive coping instructions.
6. Give your positive replacement thoughts time to take hold and work, then go ahead and switch them out with new ones to keep your reframes fresh.
Because actions become habits. And you know the rest.
Click {here} for a more technical neuroscience explanation behind changing toxic thoughts before they become negative behaviors.
Give Thought Switching a try and let us know if it changes
the petals on your flower.
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