“To do more for the world than the world does for you, that is success.” – Henry Ford

As our society contracts and fragments, with more and more people isolated in their own communities and families - or lost to the lure of the Internet - our response has increasingly been to look inwards in order to find the resources to cope.

This search for greater self-awareness through learning more about ourselves and ways to counter stress is now our default response to the pressures of modern life.

We are busy seeking self-improvement and well-being by all the pathways open to us, drip fed through the media, in the guise of articles on meditation and learning to cope, delivered by personal trainers, life coaches or even the Dalai Lama, all searching for some understanding of a world that is increasingly incomprehensible.

This is particularly true of our young who are better informed of global problems, such as climate change, war and poverty than previous generations, but many of whom are more traumatised, isolated and alone than ever before.

This is where ‘mindfulness’ comes in, with its aim of helping children cope with the world and make sense of it. In schools, mindfulness is now the new buzzword, helping children find that mental state of being aware of the present and keeping all else in proportion.