Mindfulness in everyday life
Learn mindful ways to let go of people pleasing, set clear boundaries, and care for your needs while staying kind and grounded.
The word humility comes from the Latin root humus, which is soil. Humility is earthy and grounded.
The Dalai Lama often speaks about “human being to human being.” No superiority or inferiority—just people.
As humans, we all experience stress.
A demanding project. A family responsibility. A decision that matters.
Yet often we’re so busy disliking stress that we rarely pause to look at it.
Today, let’s look directly at stress.
A reflection on teaching mindfulness in prison, trauma, self-worth, and how being seen with compassion makes real change possible.
My friend Stacy Parish and I collaborate on a seasonal podcast. Each quarter, we sit down for a short, honest conversation about how we’re really doing—and what’s sustaining us along the way.
On Saturday, I led an afternoon retreat. Sixteen people gathered to meditate, reflect, and heal. The sharing was deep: losing loved ones, caregiving to parents and kids, feeling not enough, making career shifts, and reconnecting to emotions.
A new person, T, joined the prison mindfulness group last week. Our discussion—and meditation practice—centered on painful feelings. Here’s what happened…
We often minimize our own goodness.
We assume others are more creative, more compassionate, more wise.
Recently, during a pastoral visit in prison, I sat with J—as I’ve done many times before. His life story is the hardest I’ve ever heard: relentless abuse, trauma, and loss. Yet somehow, he’s emerged transformed.
On Monday, I went to Oshkosh Correctional for pastoral visits.
My third 1:1 was with C, who lost his mom a year ago. Losing a loved one is even more painful when incarcerated. You feel helpless, disconnected, and ashamed.
In 2016, four months after my mom died, I started volunteering prison.
R, a big guy with a soft heart, shared a powerful story about healing.
I feel enraged, helpless, and deeply sad about the relentless harm our government propagates. There’s nothing I can say to make things better.
Instead, I’ll post hopeful stories from Oshkosh Correctional.
Discover five simple mindfulness practices to reduce stress, improve focus, and bring more calm and presence into your workday.