Description: Dr. Boogren has been looking out for the hearts. What can you uncover?
Listen Now:
Transcription: Hi, and welcome to Self-Care for Educators. I'm your host, Tina Boogren. This is our fourth season, and it's episode 29. So, for this week's invitation, here's what I want you to do. Two things. Number one, I want you to go for a walk. And, number two, I want you to engage in a mindfulness activity on that walk where you decide ahead of time what you want to notice. So, here's, here's an example. I have been noticing, gosh, for a while now, at first it kind of happened on accident, and now it's become more purposeful. But, what I've been noticing are hearts when I'm on my walk. I will find cracks in the sidewalk that look like a heart, a leaf that is in the shape of a heart, just random things.
I originally found them, like I said, just kind of on accident. And now, it's in the back of my mind when I go for a walk to look for them. And, every single time that I set an intention that I want to find them, I do. And, usually I find a crazy amount of them, and I love it so much. It's just kind of a cool mindfulness activity. So, when you go for a walk, maybe you want to look for hearts as well. Maybe you want to look for a certain color. Like how many things can you notice are the color blue? On your walk, or maybe you want to pay attention to a certain sound, like how many different sounds do you hear, or how many different birds, if, if you can tell the difference ... I don't know that I can, but how many different bird sounds do you hear? Do you hear? Can you hear? How many birds do you see? Or, how many different animals do you see? It all kind of depends on where you live and, and, and, what your walking path is.
But, just make it a little, a little game that you play. And, it's just fascinating how we can find it if we're looking for it. My favorite is actually the heart. So, if you don't know what to look for or what to listen for, just do that one. And, it's amazing how many hearts that you will start to see, or maybe you want to see if you can find pennies or coins that have been left or anything really. And, just go for a walk and keep that in mind.
Now, maybe going for a formal walk doesn't work for you. Doesn't work for you this week or it doesn't work for you every day. Maybe you just do this as a mindfulness way to go throughout your day in general, so it's not even necessarily on a walk. Maybe you just set out that in the morning. How many hearts can you see? How many times do you hear someone say a certain word? Like, pay attention for it, like to pay attention, see if you hear like a number of people say, please or thank you. Or, how many times do you notice people doing something kind for someone else or holding the door for someone else? I just think it is a cool way to look at the world. And, when I set out to find or hear certain things, I always do.
And, there's a lesson to be learned in that, right? That kind of obvious reminder that when we expect to see bad things, we usually do. So, I think of this like when I go to the airport. If I expect to see craziness and nonsense, I for sure will find it. And, when I get my mind in a different place, and I go to the airport determined to find kindness or laughter or, whatever ... Just general positivity ... It's amazing that it's there. It's just what our, what our brain is primed and expecting to see. So, that's what I want you to try this week. Get your mind set on something you want to look for, or hear, or maybe it's a smell. I don't know.
I was saying I taught middle school for so long. It's always dangerous with smells, right? But, maybe on a walk ... When I lived, when we lived in the place before we live now, part of my typical route that I took on a walk in the morning took me past a bakery that was just the best. I could smell them making bread in the morning, and it was just such a highlight. So, maybe it's a smell. It could be ... It could be anything. Just set your mind to looking for something, and see if you find it, and make it something positive. We want to prime our brain for the positive or, ooh, the delicious smell or the smell, sweet sound of birds chirping, whatever it is. And, I bet you'll find it. If you look for it, I bet you'll find it. And, that's what I want you to play with this week. I'm going to do the same thing. I'm still going to be looking for hearts on my walks this week. And, I bet I'm going to see tons of them. I hope you do too.
As always, thank you so much to Brooke for making this happen. Thank you to Marzano Resources and Solution Tree for this incredible job that I get to do. And, to you, my bad-ass Self-Care Squad. I'm so stinking grateful for you. May you, may you find a whole bunch of delight this week.