Hello Courageous Pals,

First, a bit of spring-cleaning housekeeping: from next month I’ll be switching the newsletter over to Wordpress, where the rest of my website is hosted. You won’t need to do anything; this change will happen automatically (famous last words…!) and from next month you’ll get newsletters directly from there. It will be the same ‘from’ address and everything, so you really shouldn’t notice the change. If you have any concerns about this just drop me a line and I’ll get back to you.

We’re going to continue with the Five Ways of Wellbeing this month - the next one is actually “get active” but I’m not a fitness coach so I won’t be giving you tips on that - aside from encouraging you to join in for our regular monthly reflection walk, of course! This month’s wellbeing theme is noticing (or mindfulness, if you’re feeling fancy.)

Courage Pie (to go): Notice 🔭

We live in a world which has lost the art of boredom: there’s always another notification on our phone, an endless stream of social media to scroll, a new podcast, the news to check really quick (and send our blood pressure through the roof…) there are constant demands on our attention which are keeping us from being aware of what’s going on, right now, within and around us. This is especially true when we’re feeling stressed out or overwhelmed, ruminating on thoughts that keep coming back, getting in the way of us noticing ourselves and the world. Mindfulness is simply the art of noticing what is happening, right now: all the richness of our lived experience through your senses, and an awareness of our thoughts and emotions as they happen each moment.

Eventually this noticing can help us become aware of the physical and mental signs of distress earlier, helping us glide over life’s inevitable waves of turbulence like agile surfers instead of desperately fighting to keep our heads above water.

Fancy a mindful discussion on the move? Join us at 1 PM tomorrow, 11 March, outside Canopy Kitchen at Edinburgh Futures Institute for a gentle walk (or wheel) around the Meadows. Sign up via Eventbrite to be notified of any last-minute changes! Can’t make it in person? Find a courageous pal and use the Questions to Go below for a reflective walk of your own.

Questions to Go:

• What can you notice today which you normally overlook in your everyday environment? On your commute to work or a lunchtime walk, perhaps: what can you find which is new to you - even if it’s been there all along?

• When do things tend to catch your attention - is it only when things are wrong that you notice them, or do you find yourself captivated by things that are working, in harmony, or pleasingly arranged?

• Right now, this moment, as you read these words: what can you hear? What can you see beyond this screen? What can you smell? What can you feel, either in your hands or where you are sitting or standing? Can you taste anything? 

• What’s something that regularly distracts you from experiencing the world through your senses? What would it take for you to set that aside, even for a little while, and allow yourself to notice the world as it is?

• What’s one small adventure you could take this week - perhaps a short detour from your normal daily routine - which would let you notice something new?

Science Behind the Slice:

Reminder of Julia Whitaker’s very useful Playful Approach to the Five Ways to Wellbeing.

Mind’s 5 Ways to Wellbeing Guide, Step 3: Take Notice.

Seligman, Martin. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. Free Press.

Coming up…

We had so much fun at our Curiosity workshop that I’ll be running a monthly wellbeing for your creative practice event series for Corvidaeum Creative! The next one will be on Thursday 9 April when we’ll be covering strategies for managing the inner critic. Sign up here.

I’ll also be reuniting with the wonderful Jane of Solás Yoga to do another of our afternoon yoga + coaching workshops later in the spring! Stay tuned for details…

If there’s something you’d like to work through one-on-one, here’s where you can find all the info about my coaching approach and current offers.

Very best,

Caitlin