Mindfulness is a key skill for happiness and we can do it wherever we are. So here are some ideas to get started - it'll help you get more from your day! 


Why Do It?
In our busy lives we constantly have our head full or thoughts about the future or about the past - what are we going to do next or what are we going to become or how well or badly we just did. This means we're often not that aware of what is around us, and what happening in the here and now. So there's likely to be a lot good stuff that we miss (or not so good stuff that we really need to be aware of). It also means that we often do things more out of unconscious habit rather than fully conscious choice.
Being mindful means being more fully aware of what is around us - what we can see, hear, touch and taste. And what is happening inside - our thoughts and feelings. It's about learning to observe all this but not getting caught up in thinking or worrying about it, so being able to choose what we then attend to.
Mindfulness has been shown to help us be healthier, less affected by stress, more relaxed, more creative, more open to learning, sleep better, improve our relationships with others and feel happier and more satisfied with our lives.
What's great is it's a skill that anyone can learn and benefit from. It is very simple, and need take only a few minutes a day. But it does take a bit of practice and it may be hard at first. Keep at it and you'll feel the benefits in many areas of your life.


Where to Start?
There are lots of different ways to practice mindfulness. If you can, a good place to learn and experience it is to join a class or use a CD or online tool (see Resources below). And there is also a separate action on this website if you'd like to learn how to meditate, which is a great way to be more mindful. However, we can all start by trying a few simple exercises during our daily routine. Try one of these for a week or two and notice what you notice!
1. Observing mindfully
This is about simply trying to increase what we're aware of and our consciousness of what is around us. It only takes a few extra minutes. Here are some ideas to try:

• As you enter your house or workplace, be aware of your sensations and feelings as you enter. How does the floor feel beneath your feet? What noises can you hear? What smells do you notice? What colours?
• Each time you step outside look up at the sky and see the sky and the clouds or the stars, notice the feeling of the air on your body or the warmth of the sun or sensation of the wind.
• Look up at some trees and notice how they are, their different shapes and colours. Look at the texture of their bark, branches and leaves. Notice how these move and the sound of the leaves. Are there any birds sitting in them or singing? Can you see sunlight through the foliage or drops of rain in the leaves? What insects are buzzing nearby? What else can you notice?
• When you are going somewhere in the car, by foot or on your bike notice how you are as you travel. Are you rushing to reach your destination? How does it feel? Where are the muscles in your body tight or relaxed? Which are working and which are not? How does your breathing feel - fast, slow, deep or shallow? Does it feel different when you slow down and take your time?
• Each day notice an object of wonder or beauty. Take a moment to appreciate the skill and effort that went into an object such as a car, building, sculpture or work of art or the beauty in nature.
• When you are doing something pleasurable such as taking a warm shower or bath, petting you dog or cat, stroking your child's hair or sitting down for a moment of peace, be really present. Really notice what it is you find pleasurable about the experience and how it makes you feel.

2. Walking mindfully

• Why not try this on a walk that you often take, for example to work, school or college. Or you can choose to go for a walk specifically to practice mindfulness.
• Set yourself a time - say 10 or 15 minutes (sometimes setting the alarm on your phone is good so you don't need to keep looking at your watch).
• As you walk, focus your attention on the soles of your feet and how they feel as each in turn touches the ground. From your heel as it lands and through to your toes as you move to the other foot. Notice where your weight is, the texture of the ground on your feet and how this changes as you walk, how warm or cold your feet are, the noise your feet make as you walk…
• Don't judge or worry about what you are experiencing or change the way you are walking as a result. The aim is simply to focus and notice.
• If your mind wanders or gets caught up in thought, bring it back to your feet and noticing the sensations of walking. (It is very normal at first for our mind to wander - eventually we learn to keep it focused.)
• Keep going until your alarm rings.

3. Eating mindfully
Eating is a great opportunity to practice mindfulness. Have a go…may be try it with a piece of you favourite fruit or even some chocolate…

• Start by really looking at what you are about to eat. What colours can you see in it? What does the texture look like? What is the shape like?
• Then pick it up. How does it feel in your hands? What does the shape and texture feel like? Is it the same all over? Can you smell it?
• If it is wrapped or needs peeling, open the wrapper or peel it slowly. Notice the sound, smell and feel as you do. What colours and texture do you now see?
• Take a small bite - but don't chew! Notice how it feels in your mouth. What is the texture? What can you already taste? If you move it around your mouth does this change?
• Then start to eat. Feel the texture and notice all the flavours as you chew the food slowly and as you swallow.
• Do not think about the next mouthful until you have swallowed the one before. You may find it helpful to put your piece of fruit down or your bar of chocolate (or your cutlery if using) down between each mouthful.

Source: Action for Happiness

Since moving to Michigan, I have developed a love for taking pictures of sunsets. To be fair, I am snapping pictures on my iPhone, but I get great enjoyment from taking a picture at just the right moment that makes for a great visual.

In southwest Michigan, we are so blessed to have beautiful, diverse sunsets. Sometimes the sky lights up with pinks, purples and blues, but other times the sky is on fire with bright oranges and reds. Sometimes there are dark, heavy clouds, and other nights there is hardly a cloud in the sky. Each sunset is so unique.

I have become keenly aware of the sky around the time the sun is going to set. I closely monitor the position of the sun and the amount of clouds in the sky. I often race from the gym to Second Street to capture the sun dipping under the lake. (To my dismay-- Second Street isn't available right now due to erosion!) 

Here are a couple of pictures I have taken since November. The winter rarely provides sunsets for us, but spring and summer are just around the corner!

My final suggestion is that there are five truly essential questions that you should regularly ask yourself and others. My claim is that, if you get in the habit of asking these questions, you have a very good chance of being both successful and happy, and you will be in a good position to answer “I did” to the bonus question at the end.


The first is a question my own kids are fond of asking, and it’s one you may have heard other teenagers pose — or maybe you still pose it yourself. The question is “Wait, what?”
My kids typically pose this question when I get to the point in a conversation where I’m asking them to do a chore or two. From their perspective, they hear me saying something like: “blah, blah, blah, blah, and then I’d like you to clean your room.” And at that precise moment, the question inevitably comes: “Wait, what? Clean what?”


“Wait what” is actually a very effective way of asking for clarification, which is crucial to understanding. It’s the question you should ask before drawing conclusions or before making a decision. The Dean of Harvard College, Rakesh Khurana, gave a great master class this year, where he emphasized the importance of inquiry before advocacy. It’s important to understand an idea before you advocate for or against it. The wait, which precedes the what, is also a good reminder that it pays to slow down to make sure you truly understand.


The second question is “I wonder” which can be followed by “why” or “if.” 
So: I wonder why, or I wonder if. Asking “I wonder why” is the way to remain curious about the world, and asking “I wonder if” is the way to start thinking about how you might improve the world. As in, I wonder why our schools are so segregated, and I wonder if we could change this? Or I wonder why students often seem bored in school, and I wonder if we could make their classes more engaging?


The third question is: “Couldn’t we at least…?” 
This is the question to ask that will enable you to get unstuck, as they say. It’s what enables you to get past disagreement to some consensus, as in couldn’t we at least agree that we all care about the welfare of students, even if we disagree about strategy? It’s also a way to get started when you’re not entirely sure where you will finish, as in couldn’t we at least begin by making sure that all kids have the chance to come to school healthy and well-fed?


The fourth question is: “How can I help?” 
You are at HGSE, I presume, because you are interested in helping others. But you also know, from your time here, to be aware of the savior complex, of the stance where you are the expert or hero who swoops in to save others. We shouldn’t let the real pitfalls of the savior complex extinguish one of the most humane instincts there is — the instinct to lend a hand. But how we help matters as much as that we do help, and if you ask “how” you can help, you are asking, with humility, for direction. And you are recognizing that others are experts in their own lives and that they will likely help you as much as you help them.


The fifth question is this: “What truly matters?” 
You can tack on “to me” as appropriate. This is the question that forces you to get to the heart of issues and to the heart of your own beliefs and convictions. Indeed, it’s a question that you might add to, or substitute for, New Year’s resolutions. You might ask yourself, in other words, at least every new year: what truly matters to me?
So these are the five essential questions:

• “Wait, what” is at the root of all understanding.
• “I wonder” is at the heart of all curiosity.
• “Couldn’t we at least” is the beginning of all progress.
• “How can I help” is at the base of all good relationships.
• And “what really matters” gets you to the heart of life.

If you ask these questions regularly, especially the last one, you will be in a great position to answer the bonus question, which is, at the end of the day, the most important question you’ll ever face.


This bonus question is posed in many ways, and you have surely heard a version of it before. 
To me, the single best phrasing of this question is in a poem by Raymond Carver, called “Late Fragments.” It’s one of the last poems he wrote. I came across it recently on the very sad occasion of a memorial service for one of my dearest and closest friends, my former law school roommate Doug Kendall, who died in September at the far too young age of 51. The poem was printed on the back of the program for his memorial and it starts with this question, what I’m calling the Bonus Question: “And did you get what you wanted out of life, even so?”
The “even so” part of this, to me, captures perfectly the recognition of the pain and disappointment that inevitably make up a full life, but also the hope that life, even so, offers the possibility of joy and contentment.
My claim is that if you regularly ask: wait, what, I wonder, couldn’t we at least, how can I help, and what really matters, when it comes time to ask yourself “And did you get what you wanted out of life, even so,” your answer will be “I did.”
So the poem asks “And did you get what you wanted out of life, even so,” and then continues:
“I did./And what did you want?/To call myself beloved. To feel beloved on the earth.”
The word “beloved” is important here as it not only means dearly loved, but also cherished and respected. And while I promise I’m very near the end of my speech, let me just say that when I read these lines, it’s hard for me not to think about students. We spend a lot of time, here and elsewhere, thinking about how we might improve student performance, which is how it should be. Yet I can’t help but think that schools, and indeed, the world, would be better places if students didn’t simply perform well but also felt beloved — beloved by their teachers and by their fellow classmates.


To tie this all together into one slightly misshapen package, and to bid you a final farewell: As you leave Appian Way and head into a world that desperately needs you, let me express my sincere hope and belief that: if you never stop asking and listening for good questions, you will feel beloved on this earth, and, just as importantly, you will help others, especially students, feel the same.

One my friends from Ball State, Kyle Krauskopf, is a talented artist who lives in Seattle. I love following his instagram account for his art, but also for his positivity and words of encouragement. He has an incredible gift for spreading joy and encouragement.


On Tuesday, he shared a quote from Lisa Olivera Therapy. The quote was about self-forgiveness, and I really wanted to know more about it when I saw it. As I scrolled through her page, I loved what I saw. She has so many impactful words and thoughts. 


As I was reading, I saw this post about what we all have in common. It was so meaningful to me-- for us, for our kids, for our parents. I thought it was worth a share. I hope it sparks something in you, too.


Lisa Olivera's instagram: @lisaoliveratherapy
Kyle Krauskopf's instagram: @kylekrauskopf


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Just thinking about how much we have in common.
How easy it is to overlook our shared humanity.
How quick we can be to 'other' people, and give into the false sense of separateness, and forget our inherent connection to one another.
How we often forget to pause and remember the people around us are also human, also figuring it out, also wanting these things.
How often we judge in others what we do not know how to hold within ourselves.
How often we admire in others what we forget we also contain.
How many have had to abandon themselves to feel even a glimmer of these things.
How naturally we offer others the very things we believe we don't deserve.
How common it is to feel like we're the only ones.
How the story of what we believe about ourselves was often conceived even before we were.
How we all want similar outcomes.
How we are mirrors of what we see and we see what's mirrored back.

I'm not 100% sure about any of this, but I am sure I'm not the only one exploring these things and wanting to really grasp onto the truth of how wildly similar and connected we are underneath the built-up idea of disconnection.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I don't know about you, but I have been reminded of the importance of sleep this first week back. I am an 8 hours of sleep a night kind of girl. When I have 8+ hours of sleep, I am on my A game. 6-7 hours of sleep leads me to be a little foggy, and less than 6 hours of sleep transforms me into a zombie. 

I rarely get 8 hours of sleep during the week, but I try to prioritize getting at least 7. I have to make going to bed a priority, though, as I am often wide awake and ready to do my best thinking around 8 PM (how frustrating!). Just as we tell our students, following a routine and finding ways to help my mind relax are vital to getting good rest.

If you ever question the importance of sleep, think back to a time when you have been sick. Over break, I had the worst stomach virus I have ever had-- no exaggeration. I was sick for 7 days, and I spent many of those days sleeping 12-15 hours a day. Crazy! My body was craving that time to recover and rest.

Our lives are so busy between school, children, family and (trying to) pursue the things that make our souls happy. It is easy to put sleep on the back burner, but it is vital to our health in so many ways. If you don't believe me, check out the infographic below:

Jonathan Swegles shared "1 for 2 for 10" with the Middle School staff last week. I thought the concept was so profound (and so easy!) that it would be beneficial to share with you!

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One present theme at our MEMSPA conference this week was the importance of connection and relationships and how they are built with continuous small moments. During some turn and talk while attending Erin North's session on Relationships, Regulation, and Resilience four of us discussed 1 for 2 for 10. One kid. Two minutes. Ten days. 

I've shared the story of Mr. Genetics Teacher and how is one "this is indicative of the rest of your life" phrase that took 5 seconds to spout off has stuck with me for 21 years then I'm guessing that same can be true of the opposite. 

What if we all chose the one kid who may not be "seen" as much as others and intentionally pour into them positive attention and words two minutes for the next ten days. That is 10 consistent days of our students:

• having one adult using their name for 10 days
• hearing positive affirmations about themselves for 10 days
• having positive dialogue and relationships modeled for them for 10 days
• being noticed by another for 10 days
• (insert positive impact here) for 10 days

Part of our mission is to foster compassionate members of the school community and that starts with us. If you are in, just add the student's name to the spreadsheet below that you will be pouring into so others know who is accounted for. 

1 for 2 for 10

When the Elf on the Shelf craze started about 10 years back, I immediately knew I had to have one to share with my students. I was teaching first grade at the time, and I had a sneaking suspicion that my students would look forward to seeing the elf and his crazy antics each day. My students decided to name the elf Buddy, and our journey together began there!


In my classroom, Buddy would find a new adventure each day. It became a challenge to me to come up with something super fun or creative, because the kiddos would be so excited. They would literally run into the classroom each day and scour the space until they found Buddy in a bookshelf, hanging from the ceiling or attached to a window. The kids used so much self control to resist the urge to touch him (if he is touched, he returns to The North Pole). 


At the end of the holiday season, Buddy would depart for his return to Santa's Workshop. This was the one time of the year where the kids were able to touch Buddy. It was absolutely precious to see each student gently hold Buddy. They would hug him close to their faces, hold him near their hearts and kiss him on his forehead. It was honestly one of the most heartwarming things I have ever seen.


Buddy followed me from first grade to third grade to fourth grade. We went to three different buildings together and were in four different classrooms. Each year, the kids were ecstatic for his return. Buddy was an important part of each classroom community.


When I became an assistant principal, Buddy had a new friend, Newman. Newman was also an Elf on the Shelf, and the two of them participated in a lot of mischief together. Buddy began to venture outside the office. He was found in the cafeteria, the hallways, the gym and even went outside to make a snowman with me!


Buddy, of course, had to make his way to Michigan to be a part of our Stewart Family. Each morning, there are a number of students who run into the office to see what Buddy is up to. Last year after our gingerbread house making competition, Buddy turned into elfzilla. He "destroyed" a gingerbread house (that may have already had some structural damage), and has now found himself in a city! 


Although somewhat stressful at times (it can be really hard to come up with ideas!), Buddy has become one of my favorite holiday traditions. I love to see the smile he brings to adults and students. I never could have imagined that something so small could bring a classroom or school-wide community so close together.

I am so blessed and grateful for so many things. Here's a list of just a few things I am thankful during this season:

• My two handsome pups and every day I get to share with them
• The quality time I will get to spend with mom my at the end of this week
• Seeing my nephews and family on Thursday
• Baltimore Ravens football (what a time to be a Ravens fan!)
• My Stewart Family
• My beautiful home (even in its... altered... state)
• My lake and living so close to it
• Sunsets
• Summer! (There's only 189 days until June 1)
• My health and my family's health
• The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (There's only 181 days until the 104th running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing)
• Christmas movies (especially Elf and It's a Wonderful Life)
• Music (and new music from The Glass Animals)
• Sleeping in
• Hope for the future
• Tomorrow is always a brighter day
• Happiness and laughter
• Coffee
• My Leadership Matters experience
• The kindness and generosity of others