As part of the Religious Education program this term, the K/1 students have been exploring meditation as a form of prayer. They are taking turns to prepare the prayer focus and choosing something for all of us to focus on as we meditate. It is interesting to see how the thinking has changed from an egocentric ‘me’ focus to much more of a focus on other people who need our prayer support. Yesterday, the chosen focus was plants, which also included rain, crops and farmers. The day before, the student chose praying for the sick, which meant some of the students were thinking about Covid 19, pets etc. Today’s focus was grandparents.

Now that we are becoming more used to the routine, the students are describing meditation as peaceful and calming. It is the only 2 or 3 minutes of the day when no one is moving or speaking. It is one more way to take a ‘brain break’ from the busy school day. I think it is especially important at this time, as a strategy for enhancing wellbeing, because some students are finding it quite difficult to adjust back to the routine of a full school day. Perhaps we could all make some time for meditation in our busy lives.