Kindness, Mindfulness For A Healthy Heart

cup o’ kindness

How does kindness shown to you by another change your perspective? One of the biggest gifts we can give is simply offering our presence. In The Sun My Heart, Thich Nhat Hanh writes “Even if you spend a lot of money on gifts for everyone in your family, nothing you could buy them can give us as much true happiness as your gift of awareness, breathing, and smiling, and these precious gifts cost nothing.”

Here are ten simple ways to bring awareness into the day.

  • Notice the breath in belly and ribs, in and out

  • Scan your body from head to toe

  • Look up at the sky

  • Make eye contact with the person speaking to you

  • Notice your emotions with a light touch

  • Smile

  • While doing simple repetitive tasks, breathe

  • Eat a meal and invite the nourishment in all your cells

  • Take a brief walk outside or inside

  • Notice all thoughts with love