Mindfulness, briefly explained
Being “mindful” isn’t a destination, it’s a journey.
Being “mindful” doesn’t necessarily mean paying more attention or having more focus, it actually means the opposite, letting go.
To be mindful is to rest as consciousness. This is why meditation practice typically involves maintaining our attention on something, e.g., following our breath, listening, or feeling a part of our body. By focusing on something as simple as the breath, we’re able to be certain when we’ve drifted off into thought — we notice, and then return to the breath.
As this mind “muscle” develops, something extraordinary happens. We start to watch thoughts arise, be thought out, and then fade away, as if we had two minds. At this point our mind is no different than our lungs or heart — it just does what it does. Being mindful is resting as consciousness itself, as thoughts come and go, as the present moment comes and goes. We don’t grasp at or become attached to anything, which means we can move through our day with a lighter touch. In Buddhist thought, having this lighter touch means we suffer less because we don’t become completely attached to any particular outcome.
On a “good” day — when my morning meditation leaves me feeling particularly grounded — I experience mindfulness during a handful of moments at most, and only for a few seconds each of those moments. When I’ve met longtime teachers like Tara Brach or angel Kyodo williams, I’ve thought, they must feel grounded all of the time. But many teachers admit that they’re still working on being more mindful, more often.
So my goal is no longer to be mindful every second, all day long; it’s to get quicker about noticing when I’m grasping, planning, or overthinking, and then to come back to the present moment, whether I’m taking another step or listening to a friend talk.
Mindfulness isn’t a destination, it’s a journey, and meditation helps us stay on the path.
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