MINDFULNESS AND ART: The quiet power of making one small mark at a time

For many years, I’ve watched people arrive at my art workshops carrying the visible signs of busy lives. They often apologize before they even begin. They use statements like: Then I give them a pen or a pencil. Not a complicated set of art supplies. Just a pen and a small piece of paper. I ask them to make one simple mark or line, then another, and then something changes. Conversations slow down and people stop looking around the room […] The post MINDFULNESS AND ART: The quiet power of making one small mark at a time appeared first on The Mindful Word.

Posted on: 23 September 2026 | 1:00 pm

WHAT TEACHING MEMOIR WRITING HAS TAUGHT ME: Holding space for other people’s truths

The woman was in her late sixties. She said she started writing a memoir about the story of her deceased husband. She claimed she was writing the memoir as a gift to her family and didn’t care if it ever got published. She wasn’t a published writer but had been journaling for many years. She began reading what she wrote about her husband’s life and subsequent motorcycle accident. The workshop participants and I listened in awe. Her words were strung […] The post WHAT TEACHING MEMOIR WRITING HAS TAUGHT ME: Holding space for other people’s truths appeared first on The Mindful Word.

Posted on: 21 September 2026 | 1:00 pm

THE MORAL LIFE BEGINS WITH A QUESTION: “Why do I believe this is right?”

Most of us inherit our moral worlds before we’re old enough to know that we’re inheriting them. Our parents teach us certain things. Religion teaches us others. Schools, friends, neighbourhoods and popular culture fill in the gaps. Our experiences do some of the teaching, too. Something that happened to us when we were young can quietly become a principle we carry for decades. Eventually, though, life has a way of interrupting what we thought we knew. Someone we love does […] The post THE MORAL LIFE BEGINS WITH A QUESTION: “Why do I believe this is right?” appeared first on The Mindful Word.

Posted on: 16 September 2026 | 1:00 pm

WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU OPEN: Finding the silver lining in the midst of clouds

My father, a Holocaust survivor, always reminded me to look for the silver lining. Even though he’s been gone for 37 years, I still feel him over my shoulder, whispering those words, especially in life’s darkest moments. At the time, I didn’t realize how often I’d need that wisdom. In 2001, when I was 47 and just one month before the World Trade Centers fell, I was diagnosed with DCIS, an early form of breast cancer. It was the beginning […] The post WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU OPEN: Finding the silver lining in the midst of clouds appeared first on The Mindful Word.

Posted on: 14 September 2026 | 1:00 pm

LEARN TO NOTICE THE SMALL THINGS: How gratitude changes the way we see ordinary days

For a long time, I thought gratitude was something I was supposed to feel when something wonderful happened. Good news, an achievement, a special occasion—those were the moments that seemed worth celebrating. Ordinary days felt different. I’d wake up, get ready, study or work, talk to people, finish whatever needed to be done and go to sleep. Then the same routine would begin again. Nothing seemed particularly special about it. At some point, though, I started noticing how much of […] The post LEARN TO NOTICE THE SMALL THINGS: How gratitude changes the way we see ordinary days appeared first on The Mindful Word.

Posted on: 9 September 2026 | 1:00 pm

MEGA-GEM: How mindfulness and gratitude complement each other

What happens when two practices meet each other, perhaps unexpectedly? Gratitude and Mindfulness are two intimately intertwined gifts. On their own, they’re powerful and nourishing. But when they meet each other, hold hands and walk along on the journey of life, their relationship becomes an upward spiral of growth, peace and joy. How does that happen? Simple. I sum it up as a MEGA-GEM: Mindfulness Energizes Gratitude And Gratitude Energizes Mindfulness. How mindfulness energizes gratitude When you pay attention to […] The post MEGA-GEM: How mindfulness and gratitude complement each other appeared first on The Mindful Word.

Posted on: 7 September 2026 | 1:00 pm

THE WAY WE HOLD OURSELVES: Why self-compassion and connection are so important for women

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that many women know well. It’s the exhaustion of carrying the invisible things. Remembering birthdays. Checking in on everyone. Managing emotions in the room. Caring for children, partners, parents, friends, colleagues and communities. Trying to be successful while also being present. Trying to look like we’re managing it all—even when, underneath the face we’re presenting to the world, we’re wondering when we’ll finally have a moment to breathe. Somewhere along the way, many […] The post THE WAY WE HOLD OURSELVES: Why self-compassion and connection are so important for women appeared first on The Mindful Word.

Posted on: 3 September 2026 | 1:00 pm

INTELLIGENCE: What if it isn’t what we think it is?

A whale can remember the voice of a companion for decades. A human being can invent a mathematical proof no one has ever imagined. A machine can generate an essay in seconds by detecting patterns across billions of pieces of text. We call all three intelligent. But what exactly are we naming when we use the word intelligence? We tend to think of intelligence as something we possess. Some people have more of it, some have less. We measure it […] The post INTELLIGENCE: What if it isn’t what we think it is? appeared first on The Mindful Word.

Posted on: 1 September 2026 | 1:00 pm

WHAT THE PIANO TAUGHT ME: 3 life lessons learned during my first few months of practice

I can play “Happy Birthday.” I can play “Jingle Bells” and I know what the word pianissimo means. Most importantly of all, I now know the importance and power of daily practice, and that goes for any skill. I’ve seen the beautiful results of letting yourself be terrible and incompetent and continuing to try anyway. Six months ago, I started taking piano lessons. I’ve practiced for half an hour, six days a week since I had my first lesson and […] The post WHAT THE PIANO TAUGHT ME: 3 life lessons learned during my first few months of practice appeared first on The Mindful Word.

Posted on: 26 August 2026 | 1:00 pm

WRITING FOR OUR LIVES: 6 meaningful reasons to express yourself with words

For years now, I’ve read and loved the writings of Penelope Lively, a Cairo-born British author. In addition to her Booker-prize-winning Moon Tiger, my other favourite of hers is Making it Up—a 2026 novel based on pivotal moments in the author’s own life. However, instead of writing down or fictionalizing those moments, Lively asks: “What if?” As in: “What might have happened or unfolded if, back when, I had chosen or followed a different or alternate path?” The result? A […] The post WRITING FOR OUR LIVES: 6 meaningful reasons to express yourself with words appeared first on The Mindful Word.

Posted on: 24 August 2026 | 1:00 pm