Mindfully Messy

2-minute read I was raised to be a gold-medal-level people pleaser, Reader. Olympic-tier. Truly elite. I in my 20s dominating an Acts of Service Pentathlon For those of you who are not familiar, here’s a quick demo of the discipline: Q: Do you want a coffee?A: Are you already making one for yourself? Because if not, no problem, I’ll just quietly dehydrate. Q: What do you prefer?A: I have no preferences. Happy to go with what you prefer. I am easy, I don't really have needs anyway. Q: Can you...

2-minute read Hot take from someone who left her stable, well-paid corporate job to “follow her calling”… 👉 I don’t actually believe in the concept of “calling.” Yep. I said it. Brb, waiting for the spiritual police to kick down my door any moment now 🚨 For a long time, I really thought one day I would have this crystal-clear moment of cosmic clarity. Like, I’d be sipping my £7 oat latte in a hipster cafe and suddenly hear: “ 🔊 “YOU. WERE BORN TO FACILITATE MINDFULNESS AND HOST WORKSHOPS ON...

2-minute read Last week I spent three days in Brighton, just a couple of hours from home, and... Not gonna lie, I actually RELAXED. Unapologetically me Like, full-body exhale, brain-on-airplane-mode relaxed. ✈️ No phone. No existential fridge staring. No stack of dishes judging me from the sink. And while floating, I had a thought: Why is it so much easier to unwind when we’re not at home? Sure, being out of emails and Slack notifications helps. ❌💻 But I think it goes deeper, Reader. Let me...

2-minute read You’re at the cinema. You’ve waited months to see this movie. You’ve got your popcorn, your drink, your perfect seat. The lights go down. The opening scene starts. And then… Chewing. Loud chewing. You narrow your eyes and shake your head, wondering, “Are they eating with their mouth open? Are they... mic'd up? Is this part of the soundtrack?” You try to stay calm. Someone behind you moves. Your seat jiggles. A phone screen lights up like the sun. Someone whispers. Your...

2-minute read A couple of weeks ago, I was in Valencia for a conference, and my friend Timea invited me to share the room with her for some bonus pyjama-party time. 💅 The room was pretty standard at first glance, but then Reader… We started noticing little touches: Chocolate on the pillow, air spray, night kits, champagne, different kinds of hands and refreshing foot cream and just a lot of fancy sh*t ✨👀 including a Japanese toilet that honestly would deserve its own newsletter 🚽 Every night...

2-minute read No, my account wasn't hacked, Reader. And yes, this is a brief football story. ⚽ Last night, I had some friends over to watch a football match. A big one, apparently. Arsenal vs. Real Madrid. My friends were very excited, they explained to me, because this specific matchup hadn’t happened in decades, and Arsenal is right now in peak form. Most of the room was cheering for Real Madrid, but then… something impressive happened. Declan Rice, one of Arsenal’s players, pulled off a...

1-minute read Someone once asked the Buddha skeptically, “What have you gained through meditation?” The Buddha replied, “Nothing at all.” “But, let me tell you what I lost through meditation: sickness, anger, depression, insecurity, the burden of old age, the fear of death." Ok. Should this be of any interest, Reader, here there are a couple of opportunities for us to explore mindfulness together this week. 🪷📢 [ONLINE DROP-IN] FREE MINDFULNESS CIRCLE 📅 Wednesday 9th, 8 AM 📌 Online (link on...

2-minute read You don't need to be a Buddhist to be a Buddhist. (Wait, what?) I know: Buddha statues are everywhere, and even the name Buddhism makes it sound like you have to sign up for a religion.And sure, for some people, it is a religion, Reader. But it’s also way more nuanced than that. The Buddha wasn’t a god. He was just a guy. A (possibly bald) guy who, after spending the better part of his life suffering, said "Alright, that’s enough of that," and decided to try something different....

2-minute read I've got a confession to make, Reader. Here it comes: The sun is giving me anxiety. And the weirdest part? I’m pretty sure mindfulness is to blame. Let me explain: ☀️ There’s a bit of FOMO like, I should be outside! I should be rolling in daisies like a Disney princess on a sugar high! Why am I indoors?! 🔥 I grew up in Italy, so you’d think I’d be a sun-powered solar panel, but nope. My body has officially adapted to the nortern weather (fair after 7 years in Berlin + 2 in...

2-minute read Let's talk about Nirvana, Reader, shall we? No, not those Nirvana. The other one. In our last letter, we talked about how mindfulness isn’t just about stress reduction. So what is it about, then? "Mindfulness is about reaching nirvana," might sound a little... woo woo. So let's beak it down. What Even Is Nirvana? Nirvana is a Pali word (the language at the time of the Buddha) that literally means “going out”, like a flame being extinguished. So when we talk about nirvana, we’re...