For me, mindfulness – cultivated in periods of stillness and during the day in the various things I find myself doing – hones an attentive sensitivity to the present moment that helps me keep my heart at least a tiny bit more open and my mind at least a tiny bit clear, so that I have a chance to see my children for who they are, to remember to give them what it is they most need from me, and to make plenty of room for them to find their own ways to be in the world.

– Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Everyday Blessings”