Friday Feature: I Need Mindfulness and I Need it NOW!

It's been a really, really messed up week, to quote a song from a few years ago. I don't know about you, but I'm stuck between not wanting to watch the news and being unable to look away.

We could all use a distraction -- a way of stepping away from it all, even if for just a minute.

Mindfulness is one way of doing that. This practice of being fully present in a moment takes many forms. Some people pray or meditate. Others color or knit. Some do yoga.

But, until your office introduces lunchtime stress-reduction programs, you might have to take things into your own hands on those days when you're sitting at your desk feeling your blood pressure rise.

Enter a minute of mindfulness. This article from Fast Company (appropriately enough) focuses on a simple exercise you can do, no matter where you are, to increase your mindfulness and decrease your stress.

Wandering. Awareness. Return.

It's worth a shot. All you have to lose, after all, is your stress.