Personal Essays

First-person stories about what mindfulness looks like in real, messy, everyday life. These essays are honest, personal, and often funny - written by people who've found that paying attention changes everything.
Photo of a person sitting in front of a sunset
Depression & Grief
Coming Undone But Not Unmade 

Accepting the finitude of our lives can grind our plans to a halt and make every single moment more precious, writes Kate Bowler, especially when it’s impossible to know how many moments we have left. Read More 

  • Kate Bowler
  • May 27, 2022
Illustration of five large hands reaching around a woman sitting on a patch of grass in a supportive gesture.
Magazine
How We Heal Together 

Change ripples out from the places we heal ourselves, writes editor-in-chief Heather Hurlock. And when we connect, we’re capable of great things. Read More 

  • Heather Hurlock
  • May 26, 2022
What Happens When We Reconnect With Nature—Photo of a view looking off a cliff down into a green valley with a small village and clear blue skies.
Magazine
What Happens When We Reconnect With Nature 

Why take your mindfulness practice outside? Rochelle Calvert explains how being in nature releases us from needing to “try” or “do,” so that we can feel more connected to the world around us. Read More 

  • Rochelle Calvert
  • April 29, 2022
The only constant is change
Magazine
The Only Constant Is Change 

Mindfulness practice can help us change for the better. It can also allow us to sit with the things we can’t change and help us work with the inevitable changes life brings. Read More 

  • Barry Boyce
  • April 8, 2022
The Work It Takes to Forgive
Loving-Kindness & Compassion
The Work It Takes to Forgive 

Rage and bitterness toward those we see as causing our pain can tear us apart. The brave and gentle practice of forgiveness can help you turn toward the future instead of resenting the past. Read More 

  • Christiane Wolf
  • March 28, 2022
How COVID Reminded Me We’re All Connected
Magazine
How COVID Reminded Me We’re All Connected 

Founding editor Barry Boyce delves into the ever-present balance between personal independence and our natural interdependence, two ways of seeing that touch every aspect of our lives. Read More 

  • Barry Boyce
  • March 17, 2022
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