Nature has provided us with the facility to delve into our own inner resources to the full through mindfulness, or being meditatively focused — this is the fundamental principle that propels us to engage ourselves with our inner being, or soul, and turn things around from the inside out, as and when needed. It is up to us to use this divine gift to participate in our own areas of activity and creativity — to live well in a harmonious and useful manner. It takes us towards a fully awakened, exciting voyage — to meeting and overcoming the many trials and tribulations of our life. In so doing, it turns our good relationships into a universal fusion of healthy partnerships and shared thoughts, or feelings. It is the source of our blossoming and, perhaps, the best ‘gadget’ we could all use for ourselves and also for others around us — for our good and their good. It ‘ups’ the independent character of our own life too.
Being mindful is living in the present-moment. It helps us to deal with day-to-day issues, or difficulties, in a constructive, also self-assured, manner. Yes, you are reading this article in your favourite e-magazine. Thanks. But, chances are you may not be reading it. Maybe, you’ve just had a quick look at it as you savoured your morning cup of coffee. We can’t blame you for it, because you have so much to do — and, so little time. But, wait a minute — you may be wrong, in spite of your earnest intentions.
Is there a way out of this everyday ‘jam?’ Yes — and, you may not believe it. First things first — just slow down your pace and relax. Speeding up things is not the best way of doing it. Also, think of a process where you learn how to be in the present-moment, not what-can-be, or could-be moment. It will help you lead, and live, a fuller life. This is apparently a simple, practical ‘act’ — one that will guide you to paying close attention to what you’re doing at any given point in time. It is also something that will help you do only one thing at a time. It will not throw you off balance from your busy schedule.
Being mindful, or meditatively focused, is a great tool-kit. You not only make up for lost time by performing more efficiently, but you will also see problems as they are — not what you have, till now, imagined them to be. Not that mindfulness will take you on a great journey where difficult situations recede at the proverbial drop of a mantra. Far from it — rather, it is a state of being that provides you with useful prerequisites to dealing with difficulties in a thoughtful, practical, decisive, proactive and progressive manner. So, the next time you get worked up, go out for a brisk walk, or listen to soft, soulful music, or write down what you feel, or felt like, in your own words.
As Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, the American professor of medicine and creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and Center for Mindfulness in Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, explains, “The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.”
