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.
healing waters
Magazine
Healing Waters 

War veterans—who’ve seen more pain and devastation than most will see in a lifetime—struggle to find peace, and ways to fit back in and contribute all they have to offer. Three days on a roiling river bring them a step closer to feeling good in their own skin again. Read More 

  • Katherine Ellison
  • August 10, 2015
Kids & Teens
Mindfulness in the Waiting Room 

How one question from my son's therapist helped me make crucial decisions about the course of my child’s treatment and my own mental health. Read More 

  • Diana Renn
  • July 29, 2015
howling wolf
Gratitude
Feeding Your Inner Wolves 

Positive and negative things happen every day. It’s how you choose to approach those moments—i.e. which wolf you decide to feed—that matters. Read More 

  • Mark Bertin
  • July 13, 2015
Eating & Body Image
Eat Well, Heal the Earth 

Dan Barber has some wacky ideas about how we need to eat in the future to live sustainably. He wants us to scrape off cattails and put the fuzz on our plates, and serve carrots like steaks. Why? Because he’s taken the time to contemplate and explore the connection between how we eat and how we care for our land. Read More 

  • Donna Nebenzahl
  • February 10, 2015
Two individuals, both dressed in dark winter coats and hats, are seen from behind as they lean close to each other, gazing upwards in a forest with leafless trees on a cloudy day. Their close proximity suggests a deeper kind of love and companionship.
Depression & Grief
A Deeper Kind of Love 

So many of us will find ourselves caring for a loved one as they brave the journey through old age, decline, and death. Caregiving is demanding—at times overwhelming—and it can cultivate intimacy, wisdom, and insight. Read More 

  • Mindful Staff
  • December 11, 2014
Ad for a mindfulness app with meditations, articles, and a section sidebar, shown on a phone held in hand.