Mindfulness: Why Do We Want It?

Mindfulness is all the rage right now. Most the magazines at the checkout counter of my grocery store are claiming to have the key to being present. Self-help authors are producing an abundance of content to teach us how to be mindful. Even Oprah is telling us that mindfulness is essential. But what exactly is mindfulness, and why do we want it?

Mindfulness is simply being present in this moment. So, if it’s that simple why all the articles and self-help books? Well, sometimes the simplest things are the hardest for us to grasp because we rarely slow down enough to think about or to appreciate the simplicity. As a society, we are always searching for the next best thing. We are over scheduled, over stimulated, and constantly in overdrive. Consequently, we miss out on the joy of just being.

I am terribly guilty of always looking to the next thing. The minute I leave point A to get to point B, I’m already thinking about how cool it would be to get to point C. As a result, I have no appreciation for the journey and receive no lasting joy from the accomplishment. It’s sad when I think about all I’ve missed out on in my rush to get somewhere else.

A few months ago, recognizing my struggle with being fully present, I headed out to my local Barnes and Noble and went straight to the books on mindfulness. I was completely overwhelmed by the plethora of options. Panicked, I turned to Oprah, figuring she had probably done her research so I could trust her opinion. When I Googled “Oprah” and “mindfulness,” her interview with Jon Kabat-Zinn popped up, and it just so happened that I was standing right in front of his book Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life. (Thank you, Oprah) I started reading right away and quickly realized how simple the concept was. There was absolutely nothing earth shattering in the book, yet over and over again I found myself having aha moments.

Determined to put what I was reading into practice, I started setting my alarm 30 minutes earlier. The first day that alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. was a little rough, but I still got out of bed and spent time in meditation. It wasn’t easy. My mind was all over the place, but each time I started to feel distracted, I focused on my breath trying to calm my mind and to notice the feel of that breath energy. Honestly, I only lasted about 5 minutes before the dog noticed I was up and my mind started wondering to my to-do list for the day, but I felt a greater sense of calm than I had just the day before when I woke up with just five minutes to shower and dress before I had to start waking up my children.

I’ve been getting up at 5:30 a.m. every day for a couple months now, attempting to take time each morning to enter into mindfulness meditation. There have been a few mornings where my intentions to meditate have been derailed (thank you cute little Cavapoo puppy who still occasionally poops in his crate). On those mornings where I don’t have that time to just be and to just breathe before my day starts, I feel it. I feel rushed, overwhelmed, and just generally more chaotic. Taking time for mindfulness meditation, however, has helped me center my thoughts, to recognize my feelings without having to react to them right away, and to find calm amongst the chaos of my day to day life. This is partly because I am now more aware of the ways in which I let thoughts and feelings distract me from the moment. As a result of that awareness, I am more capable of moving over the extraneous and to better focus on what is relevant to the moment I am in. Oprah refers to this state as “staying present in this moment.” Jon Kabat-Zinn refers to mindfulness as the “gateway into the full dimensionality of being human.” One would think that since I am human I’d automatically grasp the “full dimensionality” of my humanity, but I can say with confidence that in the past, I have not. Why? Because I’ve never slowed down enough to be truly aware of and open to what is taking place in my life right this second. I’ve been in a constant state of looking to what’s next.

I now find myself having moments of mindfulness throughout my day. When I’m having a difficult time focusing on a task, I take a moment to just breathe, allowing myself the chance to recenter my energy. When my children are being impatient or inconsiderate, I take a beat and just breathe before reacting to their actions. When I’m feeling tired and unmotivated, just taking a moment to breathe and be mindful can energize me, allowing me to keep on moving. Taking the time to “drop in on yourself” as Kabat-Zinn suggests leads to an awareness of self that is extremely empowering.

Maybe you’re skeptical and think this mindfulness thing is a fad. Maybe you’ve been practicing mindfulness for years and think it’s cute that I’m just now figuring it out. Wherever you are, I’d love to hear your perspective, and if you have any recommended reading on the subject, please share!