Tip of the Week: Make the Bed

This week’s tip: Make your bed.

I was never great about making my bed growing up. So to those of you rolling your eyes at this week’s tip — I totally get it. I used to make excuses to myself like, “Why bother making the bed? I’m about to leave my room anyway and tonight I’m just going to crawl back into it!”

Deep down, I always appreciated how nice it felt afterwards to have a freshly made bed, but the struggle was in convincing myself to make the effort in the first place. Like so many good habits, it can be hard to see the benefits before the habit is in place.

So, why is making your bed so important? In case your mother never broke it down for you, I will. 😛

Being Mindful About Meditation

Meditation and mindfulness have gotten a lot of buzz lately. Everyone seems to have something to say about mindful eating, or the health benefits of meditation, or mindfulness in the workplace — you name it. I’m not usually one to jump on the bandwagon when something becomes “trendy”, but I am all about this one. In fact, I hope it’s not just a trend. I hope that people are starting to realize the importance of slowing down a pace and living in the moment a little more often.

Book Review: Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change

“If we don’t find some way to make friends with groundlessness and the ever-changing energy of life, then we’ll always be struggling to find stability in a shifting world”
— Pema Chödrön, Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change

Life, like a fierce wind, can be unpredictable, and we must be open to whatever direction it blows us in. When we fight it, we only feel frustrated and unstable — instead, we must learn to embrace it and understand that sometimes, it will move us wherever it wants to. Pema Chödrön defines the “groundlessness of being human” a bit like my wind metaphor. She writes, “contacting the fundamental ambiguity of being human provides… the opportunity to experience the freedom of life without a story line.”