JANUARY 2020

Pause for Mindfulness to Get the Job Done Better

​You wake up, get dressed, and shovel some cereal into your face. You lumber over to the car, and commute to your destination while trying to tune out the incessant prattling of the shock-jock on the radio. Maybe you interact with some folks at work and don’t properly listen to them, before realizing it's time to head home and throw a dinner together and try to wrangle all of your and/or your family's pressing chores before passing out and doing it all over again the next day.
 
Chances are that we’ve all experienced a day like this. Our usual routines feel stale, almost like drudgery. One of the many reasons it can feel this way is because we don’t take the time to be intentional about what we are doing. Hence, we thought it would be a great idea to put forth the idea of bringing mindfulness into our religious (school) lives.

What would it look like if, for a moment, we would take the time be still before we get going?

What would it look like if, instead of rushing out of the car to get our classroom set up, we took a few breaths outside the building before entering?

The following articles can help us think more deliberately about how to appreciate the work we do and be more “in the moment:”
 

• Benefits of Mindfulness Experiences
• Cultivating Kavanah (intentionality) in the Calendar
• How to Be Mindful When It Comes to Assessing Our Students
• Mindfulness in Teaching, T'filah (prayer), and Talking With Parents
• Trading Spaces: How to Share a Classroom Mindfully

 
We hope these articles prove insightful and help bring an added level to your experiences in and around the synagogue!