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"The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing. But when we start to focus in on what our own mind is up to, for instance, it is not unusual to quickly go unconscious again, to fall back into an automatic-pilot mode of awareness. These lapses in awareness are frequently caused by an eddy of dissatisfaction with what we are seeing or feeling in that moment, out of which springs a desire for something to be different, for things to change. 

You can easily observe the mind's habit of escaping from the present moment for yourself. Just try to keep your attention focused on any object, for even a short period of time. You will find that to cultivate mindfulness, you may have to remember over and over again to be awake and aware. We do this by reminding ourselves to look, to feel, to be.

​It's that simple ... checking in from moment to moment, sustaining awareness across a stretch of timeless moments, being here, now." 

From Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn

The long-term strength and resilience of our romantic relationships highly influences our individual sense of happiness and wellbeing. 

However, now that gender roles are less rigid, many people are unsure exactly how to build and sustain strong partnerships. 

As Hara Estroff Marano explains, “Most modern relationships no longer rely on roles cast by culture. Couples create their own roles, so that almost every act requires negotiation.”

Further complicating things, she asserts that, “because people's needs are fluid and change over time, and life's demands change too, good relationships are negotiated and renegotiated all the time.” 

Read Marano’s full piece, The New Rules of Relationships, for a list of helpful considerations to keep your connection and intimacy strong.