CSH Mindfulness Newsletter – Issue 33 Embracing Tidings of Contentment and Joy

For many of us, along with the New Year and the lingering holiday season comes the stress associated with extras being added to our daily routines and schedules. Podcasts and articles also abound offering tips to help us change, improve or rearrange our lives in the New Year - to strive for having more, or being more. During this time of heightened commercialism, excesses, and social expectations, we can easily lose our ground and forget to remember what matters most. But what if this New Year we shifted our focus to simply noticing and sharing moments of contentment and wellbeing?

This might take the form of planting an intention to become more mindful of everyday moments of ease and happiness. Recognize and welcome these visitors, offer them a seat to rest in. Notice how you experience these positive emotions in your body, heart, and mind. It doesn’t matter what the experience may be - whether it’s being in the company of those you love, experiencing the beauty of new fallen snow, or reflecting on the everyday, ordinary things that you may be grateful for – things you might otherwise so easily take for granted. What does matter is that you notice it, that you savor these moments. It’s easy for us to recognize the mistakes, the things that go wrong, and to not even recognize what brings us joy or feelings of contentment. As best you can in this New Year, remember to be on the lookout for the good in your life; take the time to appreciate these moments and qualities, and to share their very good company with others.

For some, this season can also be an especially lonely and challenging time and it may be harder to see or appreciate the good in our lives. When feeling down, reach out to others. When you notice others are depressed or feeling low, reach out to them. We are social-relational beings; we need each other to support and sustain our emotional resilience and wellbeing. Never underestimate the power of extending and receiving even the smallest acts of human kindness and caring, it’s truly the gift that keeps on giving.

Additional Tips for Mindfully Embracing Tidings of Contentment and Joy

1. Let go of the tendency to overbook or rush from one thing to the next and notice how that may affect your sense of wellbeing. Consider a mindful review of your daily calendar and whenever you can, reorient your day to invite more ease. Be careful not to judge yourself when you are rushing, instead offer yourself some grace and remember that it takes the same amount of time for water to boil, regardless of your state of mind.
2. Remember the daily basics: good sleep, some exercise and healthy eating. We may not hit all three of these notes perfectly every day but doing whatever we can to support these basics can have a huge effect on our ability to mitigate the impact of stress on our physical and mental wellbeing.
3. Take some time to make a list of what’s most important to you – the relationships in your life, the principles you aspire to live by or the values that you rest on during challenging times. Reflect on the many ways these values, people and/or principles have supported or buoyed you throughout your life.
4. The Bakken Center offers a variety of programs and resources to support community members and our U of MN students and faculty on their wellbeing journeys.  When you have some time, check out our resources, we offer many of them free of charge.

• Our TakingCharge of Your Health and Wellbeing website offers free resources, tips, and information on an array of wellbeing and mindfulness topics. Of particular interest this time of year is a collection of articles on Mindful Eating, Mindful Holiday Giving and When the Holidays Aren’t Joyful.
• You can also take a wellbeing assessment, view our past webinars from leading wellbeing experts, or sign up to attend our free weekly Mindful Mondays drop-in program offering an hour of online guided mindful movement and meditation.

If you want to start the New Year with wellbeing and mindfulness leading the way, you might consider signing up for one of our mindfulness programs, including the well-regarded, evidence-based Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program.