Appreciation the Fourth Facet of Wellbeing: A Journey into Mindfulness and Self-Compassion

This is part 4 in the series of the 6 key facets of wellbeing

Part 1: Connection: The Foundation of Wellbeing
Part 2: Activity: The Second Core Driver of Wellbeing
Part 3: Learning: The Third Facet of Wellbeing

Opening the Transition

Appreciation emerges in the small, often unnoticed moments that surround us. We become desensitised and don’t notice many of the wonderful things around us. But just by noticing them can be vastly beneficial to our wellbeing. For example, have you ever noticed?

• The way sunlight fractures through raindrops on a window, turning each into a tiny prism.
• The clarity of a blackbird’s song greeting the new morning.
• The multi-faceted aroma of your first coffee of the day.
• The layers of a well-cooked nutritious meal:  smell, taste, and colour unfolding together, signalling the start of your digestion process.

Each moment invites our attention to appreciate and savour, and it happens every day right in front of us.

We can let our senses explore, consider and appreciate, and then notice how we start to relax with a warm glow that comes from inside. It’s like the world opens in multi-dimensions around us to enjoy in that moment. With each sensation, our hearts awaken, mindfulness deepens, and our own self-compassion steps forward like a long-lost friend, ready to walk by our side.

“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” — Brené Brown

Grounding Science

There’s a quiet power in noticing the small, often overlooked moments. Research shows that paying attention to these subtle experiences like, sunlight through raindrops, the song of a blackbird, a flowering weed by the roadside will do more than delight the senses.

Mindfulness and self-compassion practices engage neural pathways that help regulate emotion, calm stress our responses, and strengthen positive feelings and thoughts. Every tiny pause, every moment of gentle noticing, is like planting a seed that germinates in our hearts and mind. Over time, these seeds grow, making joy, calm, and kindness more accessible.

Appreciating and savouring the present moment, including its smallest details, will help train us to meet ourselves with warmth rather than self-criticism, creating a foundation from which the experiential practices of Feel, Do, and Experience can blossom.

A Deeper Dive

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24979314/. Galante J, Galante I, Bekkers M-J, Gallacher J. Effect of kindness-based meditation on health and well-being, a systematic review and meta-analysis, 2014.
2. https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/87545/self-compassion-interventions-and-psychosocial-outcomes-a-meta-analysis-of-rcts. Ferrari M, Hunt C, Harrysunker A, Abbott MJ, Beath AP, Einstein DA. Self-compassion interventions and psychosocial outcomes, a meta-analysis of RCTs. Mindfulness, 2019.
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10239723/. Han A, Lee S, Lee HS, Kim S, Kim J. Effects of self-compassion interventions on reducing depressive symptoms, anxiety and stress, a meta-analysis. Healthcare, 2023.
4. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003481. Galante J, Wiechula M, Benton A, et al. Mindfulness-based programmes for mental health promotion in adults in non-clinical settings, systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs. PLOS Medicine, 2021.

“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” — Christopher Germer

Feel

Begin with something small, almost imperceptible. Try gently pinching the soft pad below your thumb, just enough to notice a the pulse of sensation.

That quiet, sustained awareness is the embryonic sensation of being in the moment to show what we mean by feel. Describe in your mind how it felt, not just to receive the pinch, but also the giving.

Now you’re ready to allow your attention to expand and try different things to try and feel, like:

• Looking at a piece of art in a different way.
• Observing the wildlife in your area – it’s there, even in the most densely populated urban areas.
• The different scents, as you walk into a room, or go to a new shop, or just in the open air as you walk down the street.
• The feeling of texture when you touch something for the first time.

Let each sensation settle in, ebbing and flowing naturally, easing tension, inviting calm, and awakening the heart. In this space, appreciation grows from each moment to the next in its own time.

Do

Your awareness can stretch softly from the embryonic sensation of being in the moment. And the moments can grow and become more frequent.

Notice how these moments become naturally occurring, the familiarity allows us to experience even more detail as the layers awareness develop. This appreciation becomes stronger and reinforces itself lifting our mood, lowering stress levels and developing a sense of inner calm and joy.

By pausing and consciously breathing we can attend to this subtle pulse that signals life, presence, and openness. Then if your inner self-critic speaks, place a hand over your heart and quietly say, “I am safe with me”. There is no hurry. No perfect way. Just savour, linger, explore and be.

In these gentle movements of attention, appreciation begins to grow, alive, playful, and companionable, letting your self-compassion step quietly alongside, steady as a long-lost friend.

“The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself.” — Steve Maraboli

Experience

These gentle moments become more frequent, and something shifts. It’s like a clearing of fog, where soft light spreads through the day, highlighting what feels alive and dissolving the shadows of self-doubt and tension. The warmth in your chest steadies, and your internal smile lingers. A profound realisation unfolds: the long-lost friend you are meeting is your own self-compassion, always ready to notice, comfort, and support you.

Awake to the richness that exists in each moment. Appreciation becomes your lived experience of being present and noticing the small wonders that surround you. The self-critic begins to fade by losing its power. You feel the warmth of your own connection and sense your own quiet strength.

A Conversation with Self

Instead of beating yourself up, pause for a moment. Notice when your inner-critic is speaking; sharp, insistent, familiar. Place a gentle hand on your own shoulder, as a best friend would. The gesture carries reassurance. You are loved, you are secure, you are safe.

Self-compassion and kindness light the path. Confidence grows quietly, rooted in the knowledge that you are in safe hands. Your own hands.

Coaching Invitation

If you notice the warmth, the glow, the quiet self-compassion, linger here. Let it expand and let yourself savour it.

If you want to explore these experiences more in a practical way, you can connect with Pure Body Fix® Health Coaching, where a safe environment allows you to practise noticing, responding with kindness, and strengthening the dialogue with yourself. Each gentle observation is a doorway, and your curiosity is the key that opens it.