Appreciation 2026
“Meditation is all about the pursuit of nothingness. It’s like the ultimate rest. It’s better than the best sleep you’ve ever had. It’s a quieting of the mind. It sharpens everything, especially your appreciation of your surroundings. It keeps life fresh.” Hugh Jackman
Meditation is a form of mindfulness and like Hugh, I like to spruik the benefits of this and appreciate all that it does – not only for myself but for others, especially those I work with.
I have a book written by Associate Professor Craig Hassed and Dr Stephen McKenzie “Mindfulness for Life”. I show my clients the contents page in which the authors describe the benefits of this artform and what it can do. It covers life in general. I have the original edition and have the second reprint; however, this has gone walkabout – please let me know if I have lent it to you!
Associate Professor Craig works at Monash university, in which each health student (including medical) attends a semester of mindfulness. This notation is from their website.
Monash is a world leader in the integration of mindfulness into the workplace and tertiary education. Beginning in the early 1990s, Monash was the first university in the world to embed mindfulness into core curriculum. Starting with the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, mindfulness is now included in 20 courses across 10 faculties.
Browsing through their content, I notice that the university also has short courses (4 to 6 weeks) available on mindfulness topics for their staff and students to enjoy at a small cost. How I wish this was available at my university when my kids were younger. It would have helped me be a more present and productive parent.
For me, mindfulness activities help to quieten the chatter in my head. Any of the arts can be a mindful activity. For others, running or bicycling assists – when at a conference Associate Professor Craig provided an example of a physiotherapy student who rode a skateboard. Anything that takes your attention is a mindfulness task.
Many of you are aware that I attend mosaics weekly and this contributes both to my self-care plan and mindfulness. Whilst my mosaic skills are limited, I enjoy the process of this art. The quietening of the mind whilst working away on the project.
Others may utilise gardening, a way of noticing all your senses whilst enjoying the task. What you see, smell, feel, taste and hear whilst outside. This may bring a sense of calm as you toil away and improve both your wellbeing and your environment.
Mindfulness certainly assists in helping us appreciate what is around us. What is your favourite mindfulness activity? Is it an art or meditation like Hugh?