Written by Hello beautiful ones,
The word “mindfulness” is used so often these days that I sometimes wonder if we even know what it means anymore.
It’s often the way, isn’t it ? When we overuse – or become over used to – people, things, or ideas, we begin to take them for granted. They lose their meaning, and it all becomes rather… well… UNmindful.
That said, I think there are probably good reasons for mindfulness’s popularity today. In Buddhist teachings, it is the first ingredient to awakening – the soil from which wisdom and compassion blossom.
So what is mindfulness ? What does it really mean to be mindful ?
Here is a sprinkling of some of my favourite definitions:
- clear awareness of what is happening in each moment
- seeing things as they truly are – that which is present and real
- living with a fullness of attention and being
If we’re not particularly concerned with awakening or becoming a buddha, you might ask: Why be mindful ?
Well, have you ever driven or walked somewhere and suddenly arrived at your destination, remembering nothing at all of what you saw, thought, or heard along the way?
How much time do you think you spend on autopilot – half-asleep, unaware, oblivious to what you are doing or what is happening around you ?
This is why we practice and strengthen mindfulness. Our life is so precious, so ephemeral … are we really going to spend it half-asleepv? On autopilot ?
With mindfulness, life begins to take on new textures and dimensions – a freshness, a richness. And as mindfulness deepens, it brings steadiness, calm, and equanimity too.
Who wouldn’t want to live like this ?
I’ll leave you, dear ones, with an excerpt from a poem by the beloved Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He often used flowers to teach mindfulness – encouraging self-acceptance, inner peace, and the understanding that we are interconnected, blooming in the present moment.
Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.
I am the freshness
of a dewdrop.
Breathing out, my eyes have become flowers.
Please look at me.
I am looking
with the eyes of love.
May we all be fresh, child-like and new.
We deserve to live in full bloom.
All my love to you. xx S.
