Hi I'm James.
Our brains aren't muscles, but they work like them and they tire when overused. Even racing thoughts that seem positive can be exhausting. Mindfulness offers rest. A way to soften the noise, pause and return to the present with more clarity and ease.
As far back as I can remember I have spent my entire life suffering with anxiety. I didn’t even realise that’s what it was up until a few years ago, I believed this was how everyone felt and was just normal.
There have been three key loses in my life. At 25 I lost my father suddenly to a heart attack, he was my best friend and we also worked together and the loss was unbearable. In my thirties I lost close friend to suicide, leaving me feeling guilty I didn’t do enough. More recently I’ve lost my mum to vascular dementia. Mum turned violent and seeing the change, the fact she treated my like a threatening stranger, I can’t imagine the suffering she went through. Each circumstance, during and years after each event impacted my mental health.
I’m now approaching 50 and as a younger man I was just brought up with the values to just get on with it! I still have those values, but I also recognise that it is ok to ask for help. One day, after dealing with the lastest crisis that my Mum’s illness, without warning and no part on my conscious mind - I broke down in a heap on the kitchen floor. My brain had had enough. It couldn’t go on. And on reflection, neither could the strain on my relationships with those closest to me. It was then that the penny finally dropped and I reaslised I couldn’t just get on with it - my brain was full.
I was lucky enough to find the most amazing counsellor. Her approach to support felt different to my perceptions. Each session she taught me how our brains work. Session by session I understood why I reacted to situations and she provided me with the tools to step back and cope.
Little Box of Mindfulness is a project that has come from that place. I have an inbuilt desire to help people. I really wanted to be a paramedic, but my anxiety held me back when I was younger that and the fear of needles lol. My career path ended up with my next passion, graphic design and evolving into a consultant that supports business to grow. As much as it is rewarding, if I'm very honest, it feels hollow. And more recently as a part time gardener (another story for another time), which has been amazing for my mental health and provided me with the space to learn what my next chapter needed to be!
My simple desire is to give people a meaningful way to say: "I see you. I care. I’m here." Even though awareness around mental health is improving, it can still feel difficult to approach someone such as a friend, a relative, a colleague, a neighbour, or even an acquaintance. Using my graphic design skills and the knowledge I have learnt (and still learning) about mental health, I aim to continually create beautiful curated little boxes, that fit through the letterbox, that are filled with useful tools to support and educate the benefits of mindfulness.
These boxes are also more than just their contents. They tell the recipient that someone is thinking of them, not with clichés or quick fixes, but lets them know they are willing to help. They open the door to conversations that can be hard to start.
Whoever you are sending one too, even if it is to yourself - thank you for letting me be part of that moment.
James
Founder of Little Box of Mindfulness
