Via Tendon is a woman of many talents and a passion to help children learn mindfulness and another language through play.
She has worked in the advertising world on both client and agency side – for clients such as ANZ, Disney, Mattel and Toyota and was included in the B&T 30 Under 30 in 2016.
She is the Creator of Metta Play – who make bilingual yoga and affirmation cards. Metta translates to loving kindness and is the ongoing practice of compassion. It is the Metta vision to instil this practice, even just a little, in everyday life. Not only for ourselves, but for each other, for the Earth, and for the generations to come. We asked Via some questions about how she cultivates kindness in her life and the work she does.
How would you describe yourself in one sentence?
A pocket rocket haha.
What does kindness mean to you and how do you apply it to your life and the work that you do?
Kindness to me is being generous with my heart. I try (operative word is try here!) to apply it to everything I do. I love that with kindness, you never run empty. The more you give, the more you have… to give again. Metta translates to loving kindness and the ongoing practice of compassion. Metta Play’s vision is to instill this practice, starting from how we make our cards, for whom, and most importantly why we make them. Our bilingual cards are accessible for all kids and designed to promote empathy, cultural awareness and tolerance. They are also lovingly hand-illustrated to represent a diverse range of kids.
How has being kind helped you along your journey?
It’s definitely allowed me to live a lighter life. I’m much gentler towards myself. Which in turn creates strong, positive relationships with others and a solid foundation to build a business.
What inspires you?
Kids (99.9% of this means my baby girl Maya). They just light up my world and make me want to be better! That’s why I created Metta Play.
Do you have any daily rituals?
- Kissing Maya and my husband the moment we wake up and go to sleep!
- My vitamins 3 x a day
- A walk in the afternoon with Maya, husband and our beautiful black lab Sunny
- A prayer before bed
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
You can’t pour from an empty cup and the reason you are blessed is so you can give (thanks Oma!)
Do you know what your purpose or ‘why’ is?
Yes. To be generous. With everything and everyone. This means living life to its fullest, being generous with my time, and extending this to others in whatever way possible.
What is your #1 book recommendation and why?
Hard one. Can I have 2? Pretty please with cherry on top?
– The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
– Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
Who is your #1 kindness role model and why?
My Oma (Grandma). Everyone who meets her knows why in an instant. She is the most giving and kindhearted human. She is also very strict and sometimes scary (hello firm boundaries!) – but I think the kindest people are. She will always make time for you. Her days are literally filled with other people – phone calls, visits, messages, letters. But she gets up at 5am everyday to do her morning reading to fill her cup first!