Little Notes on Mindful Living: From A-Z
Maybe, like me, you’ve noticed that the word “mindfulness” has gone rouge—to the point that it’s losing meaning, purpose and maybe its audience. It has become an often misused and misunderstood term that—if you believe the images out there—mostly requires carrying a yoga mat and the ability to sit in silence, cross-legged. This mis-conceptualization of evidence-based practices that can truly boost emotional and physical health is maddening. (To benefit from yoga, you actually have to practice it on the mat, not just carry it around the grocery store. In other words, you have to do the work to boost wellbeing.)
To help get us back on track, I’m offering a few clarifications—and a little gift. Read on.
Mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment, on purpose, with curiosity and non-judgment. It is a way of living that takes choice and practice. It’s an essential process for boosting your inner resources to remain engaged, thoughtful, productive, hopeful, active, and emotionally regulated each day. We all have work to do (inner and outer). And we all have to do the work. Breathe Move Journal helps support your work with a simple and doable mindfulness practice that takes minutes a day. No yoga mat required. (Unless you are doing yoga—then you probably want one.)
Mindfulness tools are not a panacea—they are a practice. When practiced, tools like breathing, moving and journaling can be a powerful process for productively engaging with your life and yourself in any moment. Whatever it looks like. This can have a multitude of benefits from better focus and engagement in the classroom (and boardroom) to reducing depression.
Mindfulness—noticing whatever shows up in your inner and outer world with curiosity and non-judgment—soothes your nervous system. Overtime, like anything you do again and again, it becomes a habit. With tremendous benefit to your wellbeing. And subsequently, the wellbeing of the world around you.
When it comes to feelings, mindfulness does not erase challenging emotions or help you control emotion. It does not induce endless calm. It can help you manage any feeling that arises, help soften your response to meeting challenges, and help you more deeply imprint your joys. The point isn’t to dismiss feelings—it’s to embrace them. All of them. Feelings are just information—like the weather. If it rains, you get an umbrella. You don’t try to change the rain. The goal isn’t to change the feeling, it’s do embrace it with curiosity to support self-awareness and to make productive choices in response.
Mindfulness does not transform your life—YOU DO. Mindfulness tools can support you in that work. The choice is always yours.
My life’s passion has evolved to sharing the simple, evidence-based mindfulness tools of breathing, moving and journaling that can be beneficial in minutes a day. Why? Because I want you, and the youth in your world, to have simple, accessible and powerful options for healthier living. Today. Right now. And all the time after that. Breathing, moving and journaling not only changed how I interact with my life, they saved my life. I found them during decades of childhood trauma. By luck. These tools didn’t erase my trauma—they helped me manage it, find joy along the way and keep going. No child has to be lucky anymore. Neither do you.
So, tada! A little gift. In addition to answering your mindfulness questions and offering support through Breathe Move Journal tools, I’m going to share snippets from my new, little guidebook: Little Notes on Mindful Living From A-Z. This project began during the pandemic when I promised my BFF I’d send her little notes about mindfulness for 26 days using the alphabet—a letter a day. I did. She loved it. (Thanks, Ann!)
Little Notes for Mindful Living From A-Z
by Elizabeth Heller (copyright Pig and Whale LLC, 2025)
The benefits of mindfulness come from being present in the moment without judging it. Like hugging your child, sobbing in grief without criticizing yourself, walking in silence, meditating, scrapbooking, noticing the aroma fresh-baked snickerdoodle cookies, listening to a friend share something important, watching the rain, playing with your puppy. The key is being present. You can hug your child but it you are thinking about the laundry list of to-do’s awaiting you then you missed the moment and the benefits of it.
Mindfulness is a conscious process for deepening your connection to yourself and therefore your world and everyone in it. Mindfulness enables you to soothe your fight or flight survival system so you can better manage challenging moments and better absorb the fabulous, joyful ones. Ultimately, mindfulness is a practice for not missing out on your own life. No matter what your life looks like in the moment. Use your tools to be present. Absorb it all. Live. Including when it’s hard.
From A-Z, here are a few notes to ponder and a 2 minute journal prompt (longer if you want to) as you breathe, move, journal into every day with curiosity and non-judgment.
Authenticity
When my son began to play sports at age 7, I taught him that it matters how you practice because you will play in the real game the same way. You play like you practice. It’s the same in life. You are who you are 100% of the time. However, since humans are not perfect and never can be, what does it mean to be authentic? Authenticity is consistency of character. Your character does not fluctuate. It’s the foundation on which you build your day-to-day life. If you tell “white lies,” fudge on your taxes, embellish every story you tell, bending the truth is part of your character. If you see someone in need and consistently respond with kindness, then kindness if part of your character. If you say what you think no matter how hard it might be, than honesty is part of your character. Authenticity is about consistency of character and not about perfection. A mindful life starts with noticing how you manifest your character in all parts of your day. What do you consistently choose as a response to life? Honesty? Kindness? Denial? Hope? Bending the truth? Just notice. No judgment. Authenticity is powerful and rare. Be a rarity in your world and watch your world shift.
Journal Prompt: Describe your character as you experience it today, in this moment. Be as honest as you can. Then, choose one way you could be more authentic in your day today. Notice what happens for you.