Reflections on Day of Peace

Peace Kits for Paradise: When Giving Is Receiving It Lights the Spark in All of Us

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It was a bluebird day: clear skies, faint hint of fading clouds, brilliant sun. Green blanketed fields, gardens and any spare ground thanks to the recent rain. You could say it was just another beautiful day in Durham, California at Ponderosa Elementary, the new site for the hundreds of students who lost their school – and many their homes – in the Paradise Camp Fire last November. And it was – but side-by-side with the ordinary was the extraordinary. 

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Mindful Family Spotlight: A Mother & Daughter Story of Resilience and Gratitude

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It is almost impossible to imagine going through what the Brown family has endured in the past four years — two family members battling cancer, daughter Finley and mom A.J. Not only have they survived, but Finley’s fighting spirit and A.J.’s unwavering gratefulness are nothing short of astounding.

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Mindful Big Spotlight: Lifelong Humanitarian Lisa Rueff

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Thousands of people look forward to Lisa Rueff’s daily social media posts spreading love and light into the world. A Sausalito-based humanitarian who’s endearingly nicknamed “Chief Love Warrior,” Lisa has been waking people up to the power of love in her community and around the globe for more than 22 years.

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Mindful Little Spotlight: One Young Leader Brings Basket Brigade to Families in Need

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Millions of people around the globe have looked to motivational speaker and author Tony Robbins for personal and professional development over the past four decades. But for one 12-year-old girl from Northern California, watching just one of his videos about his childhood struggles with poverty and the incredible compassion his community showed his family was enough to inspire her to spring into action. 

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#GivingTuesday: Empower Littles to Give the Gift of Kindness

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#GivingTuesday is a global opportunity to support the organizations you love that are doing good in the world. We hope you’ll support us here at Mindful Littles where our mission is to spark children and families to engage in mindful, compassionate action through service learning experiences, creative yoga and mindfulness programs and heartfelt parenting resources. Sounds pretty good, right? Here are a few highlights about the experiences we’ve led in the last two years. Continue reading “#GivingTuesday: Empower Littles to Give the Gift of Kindness” →

A Letter From Our Founder: Giving Thanks Today for a Compassionate Tomorrow

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This Tuesday, November 27th, is Giving Tuesday – a global day of giving, whether it’s of your time, a donation, gift or the power of your voice in your local community.  

To Our Mindful Littles Family & Friends:

With heartfelt gratitude, I share this letter on Thanksgiving morning as a mother of two young girls, who are my drive and inspiration for all our work with Mindful Littles.

Sometimes it feels as though there is an endless barrage of difficult news to digest, from ongoing mass shootings to unstoppable fires to personal family tragedies. As parents, while we may recognize not everything in life is in our control, the prospect of raising our children in uncertain times can feel scary. What I’m learning — and it is a practice each and every day — is that the most powerful gift we can give our children is to teach them to believe in themselves as courageous, compassionate beings. No matter what life brings, the most important tool they have is how they respond in a given situation: with perspective, with relentless faith in their own capacity to be loved and share love and to stand for who they are authentically with courage.    Continue reading “A Letter From Our Founder: Giving Thanks Today for a Compassionate Tomorrow” →

Mindful Little Spotlight: Olivia and Alex Metz Deliver Halloween Costume Cheer

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Kids can be so observant, but it’s not everyday you encounter kids with the pragmatism and dedication to translate what they see into a way to help others. When Northern California siblings Olivia and Alex Metz saw an opportunity to reuse Halloween costumes, they started the nonprofit Costumes4Kids to make sure those costumes found their way to kids in need.

We talked to Olivia and Alex, 10 and 17, about their work with Costumes4Kids and what motivates them to help others, both locally and around the world. Continue reading “Mindful Little Spotlight: Olivia and Alex Metz Deliver Halloween Costume Cheer” →

Mindful Big Spotlight: Maya Smith, Executive Director of Born This Way Foundation

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When one of the biggest pop stars on the planet invites you to help young people build a kinder world, you say, “Yes!” That’s exactly what happened when Lady Gaga tapped Northern California mom Maya Smith to help create Born This Way Foundation six years ago. Today, she is the foundation’s executive director. Continue reading “Mindful Big Spotlight: Maya Smith, Executive Director of Born This Way Foundation” →

Fostering Compassion Through “Voluntourism”: One Mom’s Inspiring Story

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Mindfulness and compassion have been in Laura Traxler’s blood for as long as she can remember. A longtime Orinda resident, Laura consciously planted seeds of compassion in her two sons throughout their childhood that are now beginning to bloom as they enter adulthood. How did she do it? And what can us mothers of young children learn from her that we can incorporate into our lives now? Here is Laura’s story …

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