#86: Be mindful of your neighbor babies

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’m particularly excited about the stickers!

• 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!