So I'm Officially a Mindfulness Teacher. Now What?
This past weekend, I graduated (virtually) from the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certificate Program, a two-year program facilitated by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. It was all the things, especially inspiration about sharing mindfulness in the world as we know it today.
I kept thinking about you. This ABG community, that is, and our own world as we know it today. Recently I’ve been hearing from you about the conflicts of emotion in our work environments, the bodily ramifications of nerves under stress, and the steps we’re taking to make some sense of our careers and personal lives during this tumultuous time.
So for today’s post I’d like to share some of the things that feel most relevant to us at ABG, that also inspired me most over the weekend’s “recap” of the MMTCP program. These are a few of the things I wrote in my journal, that I starred, that led to more lines of more ideas.
They feel to me like arrows pointing the way forward, as much as they are simply things to sit with and consider.
Here goes.
There are ten thousand sorrows in the world. There are also ten thousand joys.
Suffering is a truth of life and a mystery to experience. It is also not the end of the story.
We know the value of compassion, of putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes. What if we could also see from behind the eyes of others? That’s different. Eyes, rather than shoes.
“Spiritual transmission” means that goodness is contagious.
For every question, there is a question behind the question.
Our critics are our best teachers. We can be grateful for them too.
“Teaching” isn’t just one specific place in one discrete situation. It’s everywhere. So is being a student.
What would I teach if I knew that this was my last time teaching?
Jack Kornfield quoted the poet Wendell Berry, who wrote:
It may be that when we no longer know what to do,
we have come to our real work
Maybe you’ve had a taste of that these past weeks or months. I know I have.
Beck and I and the ABG team hope that you’ll keep reaching out and letting us know how you’re doing. We’ve got another survey in the works to gather your feedback, so that we can orient our content around what would be most helpful to you. Please stay tuned for that.
In the meantime, stay in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
Namaste,
Cathy
What We're Reading:
Here's what has piqued our interest this week in the world of wine and mindfulness.
How to Combat Zoom Fatigue - By Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy for Harvard Business Review
Why do we find video calls so draining? In part, it’s because they force us to focus more intently on conversations in order to absorb information. They also require us to stare directly at a screen for minutes at a time without any visual or mental break, which is tiring.
5 fundamental steps to supporting (and retaining) working parents - By Kate Kiefer Lee for Fast Company
Working parents still face an intense struggle caregiving while operating remotely. This is how managers can show their commitment.
Winemaker puts a new label on engagement with Indigenous art - By Max Allen for Australian Financial Review
Mitchelton, a Victorian winery that is also an art gallery, will showcase the talents of a leading artist in its new premium range.
Virtual Classes and Tastings Change the Wine World's Barrier to Entry - By Emily Saladino for Wine Enthusiast
For those whose finances and schedules permit, guided group tastings or classes can provide much-needed connection while quarantined.
4 Tips for Virtual Wine Tastings Done Right: An Update - By Cathy Huyghe for Forbes.com
Virtual wine tastings were one of the first of many pivots made by wineries during COVID, as the reality and restrictions of work-from-home and shelter-in-place regulations began to take hold. After almost a year's experience, it's time to revisit virtual tastings done right.
This Week's Reminder:
Keep these short meditations and inspirations bookmarked for when you need them.
Yoga Nidra for Sleep, by Jennifer Piercy for InsightTimer
When we can't sleep, it can be due to physical factors, mental and emotional factors, or a combination of both. This soothing yoga nidra practice offers us tools to induce sleep naturally, connecting within and to the body. Use as you transition into sleep, or as a way to bring meditation into napping.
Meet the Community!
Here we meet some of the talented folks who make our community and profession so dynamic.
Sue Bell, Winemaker / Director, Bellwether Wines (Coonawarra, South Australia)
Years in the Industry
28 years, starting as a car park attendant and toilet cleaner at Noon winery in McLaren Vale, South Australia. Doing various hospitality, vineyard pruning, cellar hand, cellar door jobs while studying winemaking. I have worked for the biggest and smallest wineries in the world. I worked up through the corporates, ultimately managing a 15,000 tonnes winery, worked in Bordeaux and California (I love Cabernet). Then 12 years ago I broke out to renovate a 150 year-old stone shearing shed in Coonawarra to make a creative space to be shared by artists, musicians and chefs to make wine that is open and inclusive to the public. We have a campground, camp kitchen and produce garden for people to come and immerse themselves in. My vintage is small tonnes of varieties and sites that intrigue me.
My Top 3 Challenges to Wellness:
It’s a cliché, but trying not to work too much, trying to spend time with my daughter not at work and learning to say no.
When you are creating a new concept that is evolving and capturing new creative souls, it is hard to say no to great opportunities. But as I have learned this year, being grounded and completely present in your business can be quite an exhilarating ride.
When your workplace is your dream, comprising all your favourite things, it is important not to let it become a chore, else you could not only burn out but grow to despise what you love most in life.
How I keep it together to stay well:
Swimming, deep breaths, staying calm, cups of fresh herbal tea, working and hanging with good people. I’m currently nursing a shoulder injury and have worked myself to the brink of my health, working through pneumonia and shingles. It’s hard when you start a small business. You don’t have the funds or people to get everything done, so time and financial pressure can be quite toxic.
Then if you survive and start to grow your team, transitioning from a one person show to a team of people and establishing the culture of how things are done and what is important to you can be a journey as you need to employ people different to yourself who may not get how or why you work like you do.
I try to take leave at least once a year and go bushwalking and camping out of mobile range. To empower those left back at work and to thoroughly enjoy time with my daughter in nature, reconnecting with the land.
What inspires Me:
The simple beauty that only nature masters. I love gardening for mental health (ie. procrastination, that has a positive outcome) but you can never beat nature. The biodiversity, the colours, vegetation and landscapes of outback Australia are simply awe inspiring as are the 60,000 years of human culture interacting and working with it. The world can learn a lot from Australian Aboriginal knowledge. It always puts me or my seemingly petty concerns into perspective. I’m a tragic optimist so I see the benefits far outweighing the mountainous challenges.
My favorite quote.
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -- Eleanor Roosevelt.
You can connect with Sue at the Bellwether Wines website and on Instagram.
Let's Get Connected!
Sharing Events from our Global ABG Community.
The Next Big Sip. Les Dames d’Escoffier New York
Monday February 8, 2pm PT | 5pm ET
Topics to include sustainability and natural wine; the launch of Prosecco Rosé and hard seltzer; the growth of bourbon and other spirits, and of Rosé wine as a year-round beverage.
Art of the Toast Sponsored by Spiribam + Focus on Health
Thursday February 18, 5pm PT | 8pm ET
In this complimentary workshop, made possible by Spiribam and FOH Pen2PaperProject will lead a "pencil push" and raise a glass to what may be our most challenging times and why there is room to celebrate.
Engaging the Senses: An Exploration of Flavor and Sound
March 25, 2020 5pm PT | 8pm ET
Join wine pro Devin Parr and Toronto Symphony Orchestra musicians Clare Semes and Kelly Zimba -- AKA Sonority Sisters – online, as they pair beautiful wines with beautiful music. This 90-minute tasting and music session will invite you to indulge in a total sensory experience that is a feast for the eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Tickets in link.
Have an event that our ABG community would love? Email to events@abalancedglass.com for consideration.
Shop our ABG Merchandise
Hydration, safety and style are important so pop via the ABG shop for our handy merchandise.
The offerings are a small list of high quality items that we have road-tested and reviewed, and hope they help support your self-care, while staying hydrated, safe, and stylish! << Check it out here >>
Join the Community.
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