The essence of mindfulness lies in being in the here-and-now, and radically aware of it.
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In some ways, we are always present because there is literally no plane else that we can be. But the mind being the most wondrous object, it can travel anywhere: any plane of time and any number of real perceived or potential realities. It has become a tendency in us to spend substantial chunks of time dwelling in our past memories or fretting and planning future ones. While our past has shaped who we are, and we are motivated by how we hope our future will be, the present moment becomes woefully neglected.
With the emergence of the pandemic, there have been major shifts in every sphere – personally and externally – and the truth is we cannot afford to neglect it. We as humans have been confronted with a very real threat to our personal and social existence, and have had to change ourselves and the existing systems in little and big ways to adapt to the “new normal” of life; rituals like hand-washing, social distancing and protective masks have become norms for public health, work-from-home and video-conferencing have become the infrastructure in business and education wherever possible, and there is a high likelihood that even after the pandemic the online presence will remain strong.
With these drastic changes have come new expectations and standards to live by and direct physical and mental effects on our daily living. That’s why we need mindfulness now more than ever. It is akin to driving along the same route every day. It’s natural to go into auto-pilot mode after a while, but imagine your favorite route got blocked without warning. To navigate a new path and still be able to arrive at your destination in a reasonable time needs you to have your wits about you. Mindfulness helps us navigate this new path. Research has shown that it helps alleviate stress, reduces emotional reactivity, improves our immunity, builds resilience to distress and even enhances memory, not to mention improving overall general health and well-being as well alleviates heart disease.
Being mindful entails the following principles:
- Intentional awareness of experiences occurring in the present
- Surveying the moment without judgment
- Letting go of the past and not living through the future
- Not over-identifying with one’s own feelings, accepting them as they are
- Not striving towards anything other than complete presence
Ironically, while our mind makes us feel like we can re-frame the past or craft the future in any exciting way we like, the at times mundane present moment is what grounds us into reality and has the most potential for change. Being truly conscious is when constructive change is possible, because it is in the present moment that we possess what neither the past nor the future can give us: the agency to do anything about it. In essence, mindfulness teaches us that the best way to really fly is to start by keeping both feet on the ground.
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