MARCH 2026 Newsletter - Mindfulness: An Act of Self-Compassion and Empathy

When life seems to be breaking apart around us, being told to "be mindful" can feel insensitive at best and downright insulting at worst. Why should we center on ourselves when there is so much we have to do as caregivers? But mindfulness, can be instrumental in encouraging self-compassion, which in turn can inspire greater empathy.

Mindfulness is the "moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens" (Source). According to a recent study, mindfulness and self-compassion are positively linked with empathy. By bringing self-compassion into our lives, we can more readily extend empathy toward other people.

How will you embrace mindfulness and self-compassion in your daily life?

3 TOOLS FOR SELF-COMPASSIONATE MINDFULNESS

Self-compassion as a practice of good will - It's important to remember that self-compassion is about accepting our present moment and circumstances so we can open ourselves up to growth. While we may not be able to make the pain go away in the moment, we can prepare ourselves to take action.
It's okay for self-compassion to feel hard - It's normal to struggle to practice self-compassion and find yourself remembering old pains. When that happens, focus on your breath and bodily sensations. It's okay to learn self-compassion at your own pace. By doing so, you are already practicing self-compassion!
Try the self-compassion break - The self-compassion break is a mindfulness practice that can help in moments of stress. First, acknowledge that this a stressful moment. Next, remember that you are not alone in struggling. Finally, recognize a kind phrase toward yourself such as "may I be strong" or "may I be patient."

(Adapted from "Self-Compassion Practices" by the Self-Compassion Institute)

Check out the complete March 2026 Newsletter focused on Mindfulness here.

What If We Set Aside the What-Ifs?

“The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.” — Thích Nhất Hạnh

In my peer support work, I support a lot of caregivers who either focus on the future or ruminate about the past. “What-if’s” fill our heads, and as caregivers, we’re SO good at living in our heads. We’re prone to overthinking, worrying, and remaining in perpetual motion. Even in the middle of the night! (If that’s your most challenging time of day, like it is for me, try our breathing practices. Box breath or 4-7-8 are my favorites.)

MindfulnessKristi HornerMarch 12, 2026Being Present, Living Mindfully

MARCH 2025 Newsletter: Mindfulness - Showing Up for Ourselves!

"The richness of present-moment experience is the richness of life itself. Too often we let our thinking and our beliefs about what we ‘know’ prevent us from seeing things as they really are."

- Jon Kabat-Zinn

I don't know about you, but I find mindfulness extremely hard! With so many people, events, responsibilities, and stresses crowding for attention, finding the space and time to sit and be mindful feels downright impossible at times. For caregivers especially, practicing mindfulness can feel particularly difficult as we navigate the needs of our loved ones, often prioritizing their needs over our own.

However, as we emphasize at Courage to Caregivers, we cannot care for our loved ones without also caring for ourselves. MINDFULNESS is the practice of being aware of and accepting our thoughts, emotions, senses, and environment. (Source)

The benefits of mindfulness are plenty, ranging from improving our immune systems and sleep to helping us concentrate and cope with stress to strengthening our relationships and resilience (Source).

Mindfulness can be particularly helpful for caregivers in processing a wide range of emotions, as well as for enhancing our patience and compassion and ability to manage tasks and decisions (Source).

This month, we learned how to REGULATE EMOTIONS, BE PRESENT, and FIND HAPPINESS AND LAUGHTER. So how can we continue to practice mindfulness in our lives?

3 TOOLS FOR MINDFULNESS

Notice what exists vs. what we imagine. When we are stressed and overwhelmed, taking a moment to recognize what is our reality versus what we are worried might happen is vital to acknowledging our own emotions.
Sit with what actually is here. This could mean taking the time to notice our environment and surroundings or accepting what we can and cannot control in our situation.
Notice your thought patterns. What feels difficult about grounding yourself in reality? By recognizing how our mind is affecting our thoughts and emotions, we can feel more accepting and in control of our situation.

(Adapted from "Three Ways to Manage Dread" by Beth Kurland, Ph.D.)

Check out our entire March 2025 Newsletter focused on Mindfulness here.

Take Some Time to Just BE

“In today’s rush, we all think too much - seek too much - want too much - and forget about the joy of just being.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

Our young adult son living with a traumatic brain injury came to me recently and proclaimed, “You and Dad are people that get things done!” I’m going to take that as a compliment. Yet, it does cause me to pause and contemplate my ongoing intention to spend less time focused on DOING and more time focused on BEING.

If there is anything that caregivers are good at, it’s DOING. Don’t you just LOVE being able to tick things off of a good to-do list? I think what feels good about DOING is that it gives me the feeling that I am in control of something, when the world around me feels out of control.

What about BEING? That takes more intentional work—to create a practice of BEING.

Self-DiscoveryKristi HornerMarch 13, 2025Being Present, Living Mindfully

MARCH 2024 NEWSLETTER: Living Mindfully - Presence is the best present 💝

As a caregiver, do you feel you're mindful (living in the present moment) or is your mind full (overwhelmed, scattered, trying to do too much, or multi-tasking)?

For me, I find myself constantly teetering between BOTH, but if I'm being honest, I most often find my mind FULL. But 2023 my intention was to be more present - for myself and others. I made a concerted effort in my goal setting to focus on the here and now. 2023 quickly became one of my most challenging caregiving years. Caring for aging parents (and bonus parents), as well as a young adult with a traumatic brain injury, is hard on a good day - and we had many road blocks with detours in 2023. I lost sight of ME and felt pulled in too many directions.

Mindfulness is the ability to focus on the present moment while calmly recognizing and accepting your thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. Mindfulness is being fully present, aware of where you are and what you’re doing while not being overly reactive or overwhelmed by what is happening around you. When you are mindful you are free of both the past and future and free of judgment of right and wrong. Mindfulness for caregivers means learning to live in the moment, accepting the reality of your situation, and filtering out distractions.

Check out our entire March Newsletter focused on MINDFULNESS here!

Appreciate the Little Things

“Now is the time to be aware of the present moment. I let go of the past and the future.” – Positive Psychology

Have you ever truly focused on something simple that you’re doing … without any distractions … something like eating a strawberry? If you do, you might notice both the simplicity and the richness of your action and the strawberry. You might close your eyes, take small bites, and savor the taste, smell, and feel of the strawberry with each bite. In doing so, you become fully present in that moment, and you may feel a sense of peace or wonder come over you.

MindfulnessKristi HornerMarch 14, 2024Being Present, Living Mindfully

March Newsletter: Mindfulness - Presence is the best present 🎁

Mindfulness may feel "trendy" or just an "overused" term to you. Before we launched Courage to Caregivers in 2018 - it did to me, too! As I have come to understand, appreciate, and aspire to make mindfulness a practice in my daily life, mindfulness has become my #1 coping strategy for the stress of caregiving.

I face stress as a caregiver each and every day. I support a young adult with a traumatic brain injury and aging parents (one newly minted 90-year old) - both living in our home. Using mindfulness as a coping strategy for the stress of caregiving, I am able to better regulate my emotions, sleep better (and return to sleep more effectively), notice when I'm not focused on what's IN my control, and find myself simply more present. I also love that mindfulness is rooted in COMPASSION - and we're all born with the capacity to be mindful.

I now find myself focusing on my breath (it truly can be that simple - and our breathing meditation classes have shown me just that), using affirmations and intentions and focusing on the present.

Mindful Magazine (our go-to for all things MINDFUL) has an excellent definition of mindfulness: "Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses, it’s not something you have to conjure up, you just have to learn how to access it."

Check out our entire March newsletter focused on Mindfulness here.

Slow Down … Be Present

“When you are present, when your attention is fully in the Now, Presence will flow into and transform what you do. There will be a quality and power in it.” – Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now

No matter what we have going on in our lives, there are times when we need to slow down, be present, and be mindful. Mindfulness is the ability to focus on the present moment while calmly recognizing and accepting our thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. Being mindful frees us from being stuck in the past or trying to control the future. It allows us to be aware of where we are and what we’re doing while not being overly reactive or overwhelmed by what is happening around us.

For caregivers, mindfulness means learning to live in the moment, accepting the reality of our situation, and filtering out distractions.

MindfulnessKristi HornerMarch 9, 2023Mindfulness, Being Present, Living Mindfully