Recently 1 Life Connected and The Bridge Club partnered to host Balloon events at a large national veterinary conference. Even though we’re attending an event with 10s of 1000s of vet professionals, it can feel isolating. Balloon events were designed to allow people to come together and engage in activities, both individually and as a group to overcome that feeling. The goal being to create a space for people to connect with each other and themselves. To “fill their balloons”.

The group participated in many activities but one true stand out was the Take a Bubble Break Balloon Event. Here is how it worked; get a container of bubbles, stop what you are doing, and join together to blow bubbles. That simple.

It was surprising to hear from those that participated how much they appreciated and enjoyed the bubble break. Why was this activity embraced so openly, well we asked for feedback and this is what they shared:

1) Mindfulness – Any activity that allows for small moments of mindfulness creates a space for our brain to reset and center within our surroundings and ourselves. Stopping to enjoy some bubbles allowed for everything to stop. For that brief moment, there was just bubbles.

2) Concentration – Building off of the idea of mindfulness, going through the process of stopping to focus on the act of blowing bubbles, just slowed us down. Allowing our concentration to focus on the moment which helped to support releasing our tension and anxiety.

3) Breathing – Blowing a bubble with short shallow breaths is extremely difficult if not near impossible. Going through the process of taking a deep breath and focusing our attention on the wand as we exhale allowed us to focus on our breath. Thereby allowing us to once again reconnect with ourselves and our bodies.

4) Community – As expected, a group of people blowing bubbles in a public space attracts attention. Sparking others to join in and allowed for an instant connection to otherwise strangers. Regardless of who we were or where we came from we connected over bubbles.

5) Accomplishment – As we each worked to get the technique down for getting that perfect bubble, we all became excited to see our own and others bubbles develop. Such a small act and yet it felt so satisfying. The act of creating a bubble allowed our brains to have a feeling of completion which we often crave.

6) Letting go – As we allowed our air to transfer from our bodies to the soapy solution within the wand developing into a bubble that began to float away, you could almost feel anxiety, frustration, anger, disconnection or whatever negative emotion that was bothering us go with the bubble. Then just as quickly as the bubble appeared, it popped and with that the energy was released from us.

As trivial as blowing bubble may seem it appeared to have many positive benefits, and with that we are throwing out a challenge to the veterinary community. Let’s all gather up some bubbles and take a moment to step outside and allow ourselves the experience of #takeabubblebreak.