Mindfulness Garden Games
by Joann Calabrese
author of Growing Mindful

Creating Sanctuary – Mindfulness Focus Words

      Grief is like a river. Sometimes it is just meandering, and quietly tugging at your heart.  At other times it is a raging river threatening to capsize the boat. But it seems to me that even in the worst of it, there are places of refuge.  I am so grateful for the … Read more

Sunsets and Endings as a Matter of Perspective

  In a week when I have lost one of the dearest people to me on the planet, writing is again a challenge.  However I know that Sam (1) enjoyed reading my blog posts, most of which were inspired by things the two of us talked about.  So he would be happy to know I … Read more

Motion and Light – Mindfulness Focus Words

    There is a tree across the street from the window I’ve been sitting at for the past few days. It’s actually across the street and behind another house. But it’s a massive tree, maybe 70 feet high, so you notice it right away from the window.  It is not just the size of … Read more

Courage 2.0 – Reaching Deeper With Mindful Focus

Courage is the mindfulness focus word for the week, inspired by borage (Borago officinalis) in flower throughout my yard.  Even though I’ve worked with courage as a focus word already this year, the borage plants and life events are calling me to revisit the concept. About Borage Borage has a strong association with courage.  According … Read more

Seeing with Child Eyes – Mindfulness Focus This Week

  Challenges of Writing I promised myself at the beginning of the year that I would create a blog post every Sunday, with a focus on gardens and mindfulness.  It has been a positive endeavor for the most part, but the year has been challenging and some posts have been hard to write just because … Read more

Summer Solstice as Mindfulness Focus

    The obvious choice for this week’s mindfulness focus is the summer solstice, which takes place mid-week.(1) (Although maybe I am just looking for a reason to post a picture of the Stonehenge I created in Minecraft, as I am quite proud of it.) Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year and … Read more

Wisdom as Mindfulness Focus

        Wisdom is the mindfulness focus word for the week, inspired by sage ( Salvia officinalis). Sage is flowering now in various places around my yard. The shrubby plant has soft strongly scented leaves and tiny lipped purplish-blue flowers whorled around many stems. It is loved by bees and drought tolerant, making … Read more

Mindfully Seeking Quiet Beauty

      Quiet Beauty is the mindfulness concept for the week, inspired by comfrey (Symphytum officinale).  Comfrey is blooming in my garden right now and it is the kind of plant that most people don’t pay attention to.   The world is a pretty loud and noisy place.  The things that get our attention … Read more

Making Peace with the Messiness of Gardens & Life

        This week’s mindfulness concept was inspired by the irises blooming in my yard.  When I first moved into my Denver home, a friend offered me iris tubers. I was happy to have them and assumed she was simply thinning hers, which needs to be done periodically. But no… she  told me … Read more

Impermanence – This Week’s Mindfulness Focus Word

    Impermanence is the focus word this week, inspired by the loss of my tiny pears and apples that were just forming on trees. I was relieved two weeks ago when they made it through a severe Denver cold snap. And I wrongly assumed we were over the worst of the cold. During the … Read more