Are you sick of the word “mindfulness” yet? You’re not alone. The word has become so overused in the media and society in general in the past ten years that it’s in danger of losing meaning altogether. On top of that, the definitions of what exactly mindfulness is vary so widely that it’s just plain confusing. And yet, mindfulness matters. A lot.
Mindfulness is the hub of the wheel of healing and growth and dealing with life. Many of the most effective therapeutic techniques used today revolve around the concept of mindfulness. This is because learning mindfulness is a key component of learning psychological flexibility. Psychological flexibility is the ability to hold thoughts and emotions more lightly so that we are able to make choices about how to act in our lives. In order to do this, we first have to know how to contact the present moment fully in order to gain the perspective we need to act wisely. Rather than allowing our (very transient) thoughts and feelings to drive the car, we instead choose to be guided by what is most important to us. When we are being psychologically flexible, we are looking beyond the feelings of the moment to what will give us what we are looking for in our lives long term. Then we choose our behavior based on that.
This is all easier said than done. The simplest things are often the hardest to do. The most basic mindfulness instruction to close your eyes and follow your breath illustrates the difficulty we have in training our minds to stay present. Most people find that within a handful of seconds, their attention has wandered. But in order to develop the mindfulness necessary to have the skill of being in the present moment, we have to practice. It is the only way to strengthen our awareness muscle.
Mindfulness matters because it is the starting and ending point of our capacity for change. When we practice building awareness of what is happening here and now in our bodies, minds and environment, we stand a much better chance of acting effectively in our lives. When this happens, the benefits ripple out from our inmost being to our lives, families and communities. I can’t think of anything else that matters more than that.
Try not to allow the popularity of “mindfulness” desensitize you to the ancient depth and wisdom available in mindfulness practice. Mindfulness wasn’t just invented. It’s been around in human history as an effective coping method for thousands of years. The word might be getting old but the practices are ever fresh, timeless and enduring.
