by Martha Brettschneider | Dec 30, 2025 | Life Lessons, Mindfulness
The last few days of December always feel like a space between breaths for me. It’s that point where you have just completed your exhale but have not quite turned toward your next inhale. Perhaps you can relate? This reflection comes up every year for me between...
by Martha Brettschneider | Dec 11, 2025 | Life Lessons, Mental Fitness, Mindfulness
It’s that time of year again, when you might find yourself heading to the post office for holiday shipments. This two-part story about a major mindfulness failure on my part still makes me laugh out loud. Over a decade later, I’m more grateful than ever...
by Martha Brettschneider | Jul 23, 2025 | Life Lessons
The stooped, elderly man in front of us dragged his luggage behind him, the weight too much for him to lift. He struggled to keep his head up to navigate the airport line, while also trying to keep the bags from flipping. We were in Quito on our way home from...
by Martha Brettschneider | Apr 23, 2025 | Life Lessons, Motivation, Retreats
Ten years ago, I did something I had never done before. I invested in myself—not for my career, not for my family, but purely for my own growth, healing, and creative awakening. I signed up for the Women and Power: Being Bold retreat, hosted by the Omega Women’s...
by Martha Brettschneider | Jul 12, 2024 | Life Lessons, Mindfulness in Nature
Yes, they really are that blue. The feet, I mean. Of the boobies. Of the blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii), anyway, not to be confused with the red-footed boobies (S. sula) or the Nazca boobies (Sula dactylatra). Before visiting the Galapagos Islands, where...
by Martha Brettschneider | Jun 14, 2024 | Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Mindfulness in Nature
Photos: Martha Brettschneider / Damselwings Photography Playful. Curious. Chill. These are the words you’ll hear over and over again when people describe their Galapagos sea lion encounters. Whether wrestling each other with their lumbering bodies, napping on...
