Be Well Moment: A Practice for Reconnecting with the World

Welcome to our practice of reconnecting with the world. Here we're going to offer you the chance to be able to reflect on some of those things that you may have done in your life. Things that you are looking forward to or things that you may not even know yet are on your plate. With this practice we'll have a little bit of time to do some self-reflection and we can do it in places that we take with us. We can do it kind of in our own hearts or even use it as a journaling practice.
if we wanted to. So let's get started.
Okay, so let's get into the practice. So I offer you to start. This is one that we're going to get comfortable.
Being able to find a space that's good for you. If you're in a space where you could lay down on the ground, I offer this all the time.
I know people don't always take me up on it. Floor time is great.
Floor time is great. We've had that a little bit in our area.
This is one that you can close your eyes if you'd like to.
If you don't, maybe you just center your attention somewhere that's a little less distracting.
Sitting up straight, maybe for you, it is putting your hands in a spot on your lap,
maybe on the desk if you like something that's a little more comfortable and smooth.
And then as we go, we'll just listen to my questions,
and you'll have a chance to be able to think of those right here, right now, where you are.
So the first question is, have you ever volunteered or helped someone
or shown up for another person in a way that has stayed with you?
If so, take notice.
Recall the moments, if you have one.
If it's something that you haven't done yet,
and wonder if this is a time that you might think about something that might be on your radar.
Have you ever benefited from someone else's kindness?
Maybe from someone else's time or the support that they've given to you.
Take time and notice.
Be able to recall these moments.
Now together, let's take a short pause and a large deep breath in and a large deep breath out.
As we continue to reflect, we can be reminded that we all move between giving and receiving.
Neither role is more important than the other, and both are part of being human.
In this moment, I invite you to silently choose one word that represents you and what you want
to connect with in the world today. Or maybe it's this week, or maybe it's this month.
You have the choice. You might choose a word such as kindness or presence. Maybe you choose
the word service, listening, or community. Now simply hold that word gently as an intention.
As we start to close this practice, take a moment to notice how you're feeling. You could notice how
you're feeling physically, emotionally, or maybe you're feeling simply more present. There's nothing
you need to carry perfectly from this moment, but only the reminder that connection can start small
and still matter deeply. As you move forward, we invite you to carry that intention and sense of
connection with you into the rest of your day. Now, I invite you to come back into this moment
together. Maybe you start by wiggling your toes. Sometimes it feels like taking more breaths are
appropriate maybe rolling your neck and if your eyes were closed you might open them now welcome
back hey thanks thanks for taking us on the journey just a small just a small journey a little bit
shorter than some of them we do but i'm curious how was that little practice for you both today
i so i really liked this um for a couple reasons a because
oftentimes, even when I'm doing compassionate acts or kind acts,
I kind of move through the follow-up emotion quickly.
I'm like, oh, that felt good, and then it's on to the next thing.
And for me, this practice felt like the opportunity to savor that.
Like we had talked about in the episode,
getting the serotonin and the oxytocin and the dopamine.
But it's like letting my brain marinate it in that
just a little bit longer so I can hold on to that feeling and really kind of embedded versus like,
oh, I did this kind of thing and moving on. And I tend to do that for big volunteer things,
but in those like day-to-day small actions, I don't do this well. So this feels like a call
to action for me to also practice this, even with those like mini micro moments that I'm engaging in
compassionate acts for others. Exactly. It kind of reminds us that it doesn't have to be that big
thing. And instead that there are so many ways to be able to give back throughout the day,
giving back to ourselves, but also giving back just as we move throughout the day.
I actually really struggled to settle into this practice today. My brain is in
a million different places right now. But once I was able to settle in, I also found it really
beneficial i think i'm pretty similarly to bailey i tend to just move through those emotions but for
me it's almost like that they because they make me uncomfortable like if i do something kind for
somebody or somebody expresses gratitude towards me i'm like yeah i like thank you and i don't want
to be the center of attention thank you um so being able to just kind of sit in that and in a less
uncomfortable way was really nice. Yeah, awesome. So I thank you for both sides of that too,
because that is true, right? Sometimes that when we are out practicing and we are out giving to
others, sometimes it just takes us a little bit of time to be able to, like you used, settle in,
but also to be able to reflect on ourselves, because when we do, that helps us know what we
might need next. So thank you for the practice. And it means I'm more likely to do it again in
future when i give myself that extra step i love that awesome so as we close up the day
always remember to take a breath carry your intentions with you remembering that even small
acts of connection can change the way we experience the world thank you for being here and taking this
pause with us if today's practice or conversation resonated be sure to check out episode nine how
volunteering changes how our brains see the world. And don't forget to share with your own
Be Well besties. Until next time, take good care and be well.