How do we practice mindfulness in the midst of upheaval?
There is no short answer, and it will vary depending upon what you feel mindfulness is. I think most people visualise a long bath, a massage or a nice glass of wine, and those are great, but there are also other ways. A good book, dinner with a friend, dancing in your kitchen, baking, gardening, crafting, music or art are all wonderful ways to practice mindfulness.
The most overlooked, and common one I see in my practice, is a need to slow down, become aware of this moment, and just breathe. So many are always trying to ‘do’ something or ‘get’ somewhere, but I find that often we need to just ‘be’ instead. Stop, slow down, and reflect. Be in the present moment, instead of worrying about the future, or regretting the past.
Being present, allows us to be more malleable and respond better to life’s challenges. Our future is not set in stone and often our plans get changed through circumstances beyond our control. Nothing from our past can be changed, so we must find a way to process it and move forward, even if that means getting help to do so. The only thing we can control during upheaval is how we respond.
We are often so busy mapping out our lives in the hopes of attaining some set goal, or reaching some ideal in which we will then allow ourselves to feel joy. Quite often we strive to be busy as we have adapted it as a way of avoiding our inner turmoil. Goals are great, but so is flow, and life will ebb and flow regardless of our plans. Being open to new ideas and thoughts allows is to accept that flow. Taking a moment to appreciate how far you have come up to this point in your life and being open to flow are both essential to mindfulness.
As we grow, we change; our ideals and our goals will also change over the years. If we become stuck, following an ideal that we had when we were younger, less experienced and perhaps even naïve, then we will never be happy. To be happy, you must be mindful of who you are now, not who you were, and definitely not who people expect you to be. The more you try and meet other people’s expectations of who you are, the less mindfulness you will be practicing. It blocks your flow.
Often when we take the time to look back on our life, we find that the goals we set previously, no longer align with who we have become. This is the moment when we can choose mindfulness; to be aware of what has shaped our life, to be aware of our accomplishments, and to alter our course to attain inner peace. Only we can truly know what direction that is, and if we stay aligned with that, then, we are practicing mindfulness.
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