Skip to content

Members Login

Apps

Find a Teacher

Facebook page opens in new windowTwitter page opens in new windowInstagram page opens in new window
Mindfulness Association
Being Present | Responding with Compassion | Seeing Deeply
Mindfulness AssociationMindfulness Association
  • Mindfulness Courses
    • Courses
      • Level 1 – Being Present
      • Level 2 – Compassion
      • Level 3 – Insight
      • Mindfulness – for Life
      • Mindful Acceptance the Doorway to Compassion
      • Ongoing CoursesMissed a weekend? Make it up here!
    • Mindfulness Teacher Training
      • MSc – Mindfulness & Compassion – Train to Teach
      • Teaching – Level 1
      • Teaching – Level 2 (MBLC)
      • Teaching – Level 2 – (MBLC-YA) Teens
      • Teaching – Level 3 (CBLC)
      • Teacher Training Package
      • Mindfulness Teacher Continuing Professional Development
        • Online CPD – Teaching Mindfulness Online
        • Mindfulness Enquiry Skills
      • Supervision for Mindfulness Teachers
    • Online Practice Days & Retreats
      • Online Easter Practice Days
        • Online Practice Day- Lotus Heart
        • Online Practice Day- Opening Out
        • Online Practice Day – Finding Simplicity in our Practice
        • Online Practice Day – Chenrezi
      • Belonging: March Practice Day
      • FREE Online Members Retreat Weekend
      • Mindfulness for Life Summer Retreat
    • Online CoursesA Taste of Mindfulness, Compassion & Insight
      • Introduction to Mindfulness
      • Introduction to Compassion Course
      • Introduction to Insight
      • Level 1 Mindfulness – Online
      • Level 2 Compassion Online
      • Level 3 Insight – Online
      • MBLC Teacher CPD One Day Workshop – Teaching Mindfulness Online
      • Engaged Mindfulness
      • Mindful Consuming
      • Mindful Acceptance the Doorway to Compassion
    • Come Study With Us – Choice of 2 MScs
      • MSc Studies in Mindfulness
      • MSc Mindfulness & Compassion
    • Retreats
      • FREE Online Members Retreat Weekend
      • Online Spring Members Retreat – Cultivating Hope
      • Mindfulness for Life Summer Retreat
      • From Mindfulness to Buddhism Retreat
  • Words & Blogs
    • Heather’s Musings
    • Kristine’s Wonder Words
    • Weekly Challenge
    • Sits and Teachings
    • Mindfulness Research
    • Mindfulness Recommended Reading
  • Membership
  • Why Mindfulness?
  • About Us
    • Mindfulness Association Tutors
    • Mindfulness Association Training Venues
  • News & Events
  • Mindfulness Courses
    • Courses
      • Level 1 – Being Present
      • Level 2 – Compassion
      • Level 3 – Insight
      • Mindfulness – for Life
      • Mindful Acceptance the Doorway to Compassion
      • Ongoing CoursesMissed a weekend? Make it up here!
    • Mindfulness Teacher Training
      • MSc – Mindfulness & Compassion – Train to Teach
      • Teaching – Level 1
      • Teaching – Level 2 (MBLC)
      • Teaching – Level 2 – (MBLC-YA) Teens
      • Teaching – Level 3 (CBLC)
      • Teacher Training Package
      • Mindfulness Teacher Continuing Professional Development
        • Online CPD – Teaching Mindfulness Online
        • Mindfulness Enquiry Skills
      • Supervision for Mindfulness Teachers
    • Online Practice Days & Retreats
      • Online Easter Practice Days
        • Online Practice Day- Lotus Heart
        • Online Practice Day- Opening Out
        • Online Practice Day – Finding Simplicity in our Practice
        • Online Practice Day – Chenrezi
      • Belonging: March Practice Day
      • FREE Online Members Retreat Weekend
      • Mindfulness for Life Summer Retreat
    • Online CoursesA Taste of Mindfulness, Compassion & Insight
      • Introduction to Mindfulness
      • Introduction to Compassion Course
      • Introduction to Insight
      • Level 1 Mindfulness – Online
      • Level 2 Compassion Online
      • Level 3 Insight – Online
      • MBLC Teacher CPD One Day Workshop – Teaching Mindfulness Online
      • Engaged Mindfulness
      • Mindful Consuming
      • Mindful Acceptance the Doorway to Compassion
    • Come Study With Us – Choice of 2 MScs
      • MSc Studies in Mindfulness
      • MSc Mindfulness & Compassion
    • Retreats
      • FREE Online Members Retreat Weekend
      • Online Spring Members Retreat – Cultivating Hope
      • Mindfulness for Life Summer Retreat
      • From Mindfulness to Buddhism Retreat
  • Words & Blogs
    • Heather’s Musings
    • Kristine’s Wonder Words
    • Weekly Challenge
    • Sits and Teachings
    • Mindfulness Research
    • Mindfulness Recommended Reading
  • Membership
  • Why Mindfulness?
  • About Us
    • Mindfulness Association Tutors
    • Mindfulness Association Training Venues
  • News & Events

Be Kind to Yourself

You are here:
  1. Home
  2. Weekly Challenge
  3. Be Kind to Yourself
Apr162020
Weekly Challengebe-kind-to-yourself

Today is my grandson’s birthday. He is 6.  This is the first birthday I haven’t been with him.  Usually I stay at their house overnight and surprise him in the morning when he wakes up.  I’m usually helping out at his party. A photo on Facebook reminds me of the joy we felt at his party last year.

I’ve been managing quite well in the lockdown.  But today I feel quite emotional that I’m not able to see my grandson.

I miss all the days I usually spend with my grandson having fun, being in the moment, in the woods, at the park, at the zoo or wherever we fancy.  I miss this little, seemingly wise and mindful child who makes me laugh and reminds me constantly to be mindful and to be present.

My mind starts going off on its journey of thinking.  I notice that thinking has a domino effect – one thought leads to another and another – setting off a chain reaction.

I feel tightness in my heart and I cry. And I realise this is the first time I have cried since the lockdown and that I have been carrying on, best I can, being busy and bottling up my emotions.

My daughter was seriously ill in hospital and I wasn’t able to see her because of the virus. I didn’t cry then.  I was consumed by worry, and I notice that sometimes worry prevents me from crying. She was discharged from hospital the day of the lockdown.

I didn’t even cry when, 6 days before the agreed date to move into my dream cottage by the sea, the lockdown prevented me completing the purchase.  This is after 6 months of the usual, frustrating legal process which seems to accompany buying a house.

At the time of such sudden enforced change, there was so much to process all at once.

I’ve avoided reading too much news. I check the headlines but don’t read the detail. It’s too much.

We have to trust the government to be doing the right thing.  I notice that I compare the UK’s progress with the virus with other countries by checking the statistics.  Somehow, I feel we should be doing better.  But we are not.  It reminds me of checking the league table during the Olympics where they display how many medals each country has won.  Now I am counting sickness and loss of life.

So many sad stories in the news of loss and separation.  Too much to take in and too much to bear.

At the Mindfulness Association we are offering a free daily practice, now twice a day.  Sometimes I guide these and sometimes I join in when others are leading the practice.  This is my only real contact with people outside the isolating bubble I find myself in, apart from regular calls to my family and weekly trips to the supermarket.

By interacting with the participants on the practice sessions I get a closer sense of how others are feeling in the world. There is so much suffering and loneliness.  The participants report that the mindfulness practices are helping them. The sense of connection with others is very important to them.

My own practice has supported me through the crisis so far, but I hadn’t spotted the emotion building inside me like a pressure cooker.  In our mindfulness training we learn how we feel about the gap between what we want and reality.   The gap seems massive right now.

Today I use my practice to really feel how I am and pause for a self-compassion break.  I take myself through each stage slowly and with deliberation.  Yes, I am noticing this is a very challenging and difficult time.  Whilst I am in quite a privileged position right now, in that I am fairly protected and safe, the suffering in the world is overwhelming.

The warmth of my hand on my heart begins to soothe me and I can feel the tears melting away. I focus on my breath, deepening it slightly and I’m aware of my thudding heart starting to calm.

My mind extends to everyone in the world also in this challenging time.  Yes, just like me, others are suffering in the world.  We all know how it feels to be affected by this lockdown.  We all feel the seemingly random impact of the virus that threatens our health, wellbeing, relationships, finances and freedom.

The practice takes effect as I move into the last stage and make an intention to be kind to myself today. In doing so I recognise that I have a fear of not knowing the future and the fear that things might never be the same. The life I knew has changed, my routine has changed, and I am in limbo.

Today would also have been my mother’s birthday.  That is a sobering thought and I reflect on her stories of how life was for her in the war.  Another reminder of impermanence and acceptance.

It seems like my mind needs to go on a rampage a bit today – and that’s ok.  At least, thanks to the gift of my mindfulness practice, I am noticing it and can be gentle with myself for the duration.  Accepting the situation and how I am feeling seems the kindest act I can do for myself right now.

We are all in limbo together. May we all be kind to ourselves while we are enduring this crisis.  This too will pass.

 

Weekly Challenge

I invite you to pause and check in with how you are feeling right now.  This week’s challenge is to be notice how you feeling and be kind to yourself.

You can find the audio of the short self-compassion break practice here.

Last week I guided a longer self-compassion break in the daily practice sessions.  The recording is here if you want to give it a try.

Wishing you all to be well, safe and kind to yourselves.

Warmest wishes

 

Jacky

 

Jacky will be co-teaching on the Level 2 – Responding with Compassion with Heather Regan-Addis in the Summer.

We’d love to see you there.

Jacky has contributed a chapter to the Mindful Heroes Book entitled “Turning Empathic Distress into Compassion – A Hero’s Journey for Family Carers”.  You can hear an extract from the chapter where she talks about the results of her MSc Studies in Mindfulness on Compassion & Family Carers. You can download a free sample of Jacky’s chapter here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacky Seery
Jacky Seery

Tutor and Communications Team

Jacky Seery works for the Mindfulness Association as Communications Manager, running and managing their Membership program with Duncan. She is also a MA tutor for Mindfulness and Compassion courses within the UK. Jacky also continues to deliver 8-week MBLC to family carers. She has completed her MSc in Mindfulness Studies with the University of Aberdeen.

Recent Posts
  • inside-outside
    Inside Outside
    February 25, 2021
  • Groundhog-Day-Again
    Groundhog Day – Again!
    February 24, 2021
  • Stay - Pema Chödrön
    Stay – Pema Chödrön
    February 24, 2021
Filter by Blog Tags
acceptance awakening beginners-mind being benefit of mindfulness benefits of meditation benefits of mindfulness body awareness breathe compassion compassionate mess compassion training courage curiosity daily-life engaged mindfulness facing fear gratitude insight Joy kindness letting go live life mindful mindfulness mindfulness course mindfulnesscourses mindfulness meditation mindfulness training mindfulnesstraining MSc: Studies in Mindfulness nature online online mindfulness course openness peace perspective present moment savouring self-acceptance self-compassion self-compassionate suffering taking in the good Teacher Training

be-kind-to-yourself

You are here:
  1. Home
  2. Media
  3. be-kind-to-yourself

be-kind-to-yourself

be-kind-to-yourself

  • FAQ’s
  • Privacy Policy
  • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
  • Terms and conditions

1 Garwald Holm Cottage
Eskdalemuir
Langholm
DG13 0QN

  • © 2008 - 2020 Mindfulness Association
Sign Up for our Newsletter
Go to Top
Accept Cookies
We use cookies on our site. Please click accept or review the cookie settings Cookie settingsAccept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT