Well, that's sort of what the song says and really it should be, shouldn't it? But with Brexit, financial troubles, school holidays, the terrible weather and all the political uncertainty not to mention our crazy minds - it might not be that way for all of us this summer.

But, the good news is that WELLBEING IS A SKILL - yip i'm shouting that! And science backs this claim up! Check out this informative article from mindful.org -  I summarise it here.

There are four scientific aspects to wellbeing which can help us navigate and negotiate whatever political, economic or personal upheaval we may face this summer :)

When something bad happens, how long does it take you to recover? Some people rebound more quickly than others, and neuroscientists are measuring that recovery time.

People who report greater purpose in life may recover better than others because this purpose could help them “reframe stressful situations more productively,” according to this study. Other research suggests mental training could help people rebound more quickly as well. New research at the Healthy Minds lab asks whether the neural circuits involved in resilience can be altered by mindfulness meditation. The preliminary data suggests it would take thousands of hours:

Do you see the good in everyone? Outlook is the ability to savor positive experience—from enjoying a coffee break at work to seeing kindness in every person.

Research suggests “modest doses” of loving-kindness and compassion meditation can impact outlook—a recent study where individuals who had never meditated before received 30 minutes of compassion training over two weeks. “Not only did we see changes in the brain but these changes in the brain actually predicted pro-social behavior,” 

Check out my monthly self-compassion workshops at Maitri to get you started.

“A wandering mind is an unhappy mind,” says, an article published by a group of social psychologists at Harvard. Those researchers also found that almost half the time, we’re not actually paying attention to the present moment.

What if we could “turn down the distractibility” by 5%? It would impact productivity, being present and showing up for others.

William James in 1890, wrote: “the faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention over and over again is the very root of judgment, character, and will” he went on to say that an education which improved this faculty would be the education par excellence. “but it is easier to define this ideal than to give practical directions for bringing it about.” If William James had more contact with the contemplative traditions he would have instantaneously seen mindfulness as a vehicle for educating attention.

Please consider my Namaste class or MBSR to learn how to meditate.

“When individuals engage in generous and altruistic behaviour, they actually activate circuits in the brain that are key to fostering well-being. And these circuits get activated in a way that shows more enduring activation than other kinds of positive incentives.” says World-renowned neuroscientist Richie Davidson.

Caring for others is a “double positive whammy”—to quote the Healthy Minds website—because you benefit from being generous to other people. A recent study  suggests compassion training can alter your own response to suffering.

Extending kindness—to oneself and to others—is a simple but powerful expression of mindfulness.

Through training our brains in mindfulness and compassion practices we enable these four fundamental constituents of wellbeing to be strengthened and increased.

Book of the month
Later this month I'll be doing some further training in Mindful Self Compassion with Kristen Neff and Bangor University with the view to teach 8-week Mindful Self Compassion courses - so I'm currently reading this! :)  

Talk of the month 
I love this TED talk from Andy Puddicombe. It's only 10 minutes and it's a great basic introduction to the practice of mindfulness. Although resilience and lasting change takes 1000s of hours of practice, 10 minutes, practiced regularly can make a HUGE difference :)

Quote of the month
Daily on my social media channels (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter) I post a quote or pic to inspire your day.  Recently the most popular (by likes and shares) was this one from the wonderful Rumi.

"Your task is not to seek for love, but to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." 

Plum Village
Check out the photo album from the 2016 Vulture Peak Gathering I attended in Plum Village in June. If the album is too much I posted just 'one pic' per day on the Immeasurable Minds Instagram account. #Instagood 

The photo above is from the Jardin du Boissonna - the most amazing rose garden close to the New Hamlet, Plum Village - a must visit if your planning a trip. Wonderful mindfulness teacher, Trisha Lyne from West Cork and I spent a very sunny day there enjoying rose tea and scones with rose jam :)