Month: June 2017

Smile Cards – What Are They?

Our Smile Cards are included in every parcel we post, small cards to share a handwritten short quote or positive message.

One card inside the parcel is written by us, for you, and there is a blank card for you to write your own inspirational little message to give to a friend. You can also write a message and leave the card somewhere for a complete stranger to find, to hopefully make their day a little brighter.

Smile Cards are a great way to share a smile, and although, they are a small, easy thing to do, they have the potential to make a huge difference to an unsuspecting person that finds one.

We’d love to get as many Smile Cards left around the country as we can, and with your help, we’re hoping to reach as many counties in the UK as possible – hopefully everywhere!

We need you for this bit. If you’ve written a card, it would be great if you could take a photo, and let us know which county you’ve left it in. Then we can keep a record of how far we’ve reached, and keep an update here on the blog.

You can send your photos to us by email, or via a message on our Facebook page.

Email: karen@thesmileparcel.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheSmileParcel

Thank you, Karen x

Mindfulness – Mindful Senses

So, our last mindfulness exercise was all about the ‘Body Scan’. This time we’re turning to our senses.

I know mindfulness can feel a little strange initially, but if you do it regularly, it will slowly become more natural, and soon you’ll be doing it without even thinking!

‘Mindful Senses’ is an exercise which allows us to acknowledge our bodies senses, what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch, noticing them in the present moment.
I find this most useful when I’m away from home, and maybe in a situation or place unfamiliar to me.

Try to clear your mind of any anxious or unwanted thoughts (I know this bit isn’t easy!), and focus on 3 things you can see, right now, anything that is around your space.

Then, do the same with what you can hear, focus on 3 things you can hear at this moment, it may be the TV, people talking, children playing, or maybe the birds singing, a dog barking, or a plane flying over.

Then, move to 3 things you can smell, this one can a little more difficult, and don’t focus too much if you can smell something you don’t like (if like me you’re funny with smells altogether!), maybe there’s a scent of perfume, or flowers, or food cooking.

Taste can be difficult too, unless you’re tucking into something yummy at the moment, but if not, focus on any taste you do have, or even what you would like to taste – chocolate does it for me!

Finally, 3 things you can touch, wherever you are, find 3 things, even if you’re on your own, walking in an empty field, touch a blade of grass, or a pebble, and focus on them fully for a minute.

You can repeat this exercise as many times as you like, as you move, and appreciate every sense you have, and how you use it.

Karen x