Twice a week, I attend a yoga class at my gym.
I adore this class for its energizing flow, but my favorite part happens toward the end, when we transition to a happy baby pose. As everyone in the room lies flat on their backs and reaches for their feet, the instructor says something that delights me each time:
I love this sentiment. I mean, come on! Imagining a room full of yoga babies is endearing as hell, but it also feels like the perfect message to carry through my day. To be mindful of my neighbor babies is to hold compassion for each person I encounter.
Even before discovering this yoga class, one of my favorite ways to both practice empathy and relieve my own social anxiety was to remind myself that every person I came across was once an infant.
Maybe this approach is a distant cousin to the “imagine everyone in their underwear” trick, but there’s something disarming about remembering that beneath our appearances and job titles and lived experiences, we all were once tiny and dependent.
All of this is not to say we remain tiny and dependent now. Adults are responsible for themselves and their actions. But I’ve found this concept helps me be a little softer toward others.
And when I’m feeling down or being hard on myself, I try to remember I was once just a baby, too.
Now for some updates:
I have a table at Seattle’s Short Run Comix Festival! Stop by for prints, stickers, and signed copies of my book—more details here.
I am joining Beth Spencer for a fun live drawing session on Zoom next Wednesday, 11/6. You can register to join here!
Until next time, my neighbor babies!
I absolutely love the little details you put in your art, Haley! The old lady heart with the hat on one hump is just marvelous :)
There is a reason the world is referred to as Mother Earth. She nurtures us and as we grow we ought to recognize she is aging too so we ought to take care of her too. I'll remember your, "Be mindful of your neighbor babies."