My beloved meditation teacher first communicated to me the idea that the challenge with mindfulness is not related to being mindful itself, but rather to simply remembering to do so. Years later, this advice is at the core of my practice. Let’s look at in depth:
First, if you have reached the point where you are mindful every moment, you have become enlightened. That is where all this meditating is supposed to be leading us! When we are mindful, we are in sync with the world. We are not judging; we are simply aware of and a part of the present moment. Things change when we become mindful.
When we are in resistance to what is, we are not being mindful. In such times we are less able to care for our selves and others effectively. Kindness, patience, compassion and awareness of interning all require mindfulness. When those qualities are awake in us, life is rich and joyful.
Conversely, when we are at a traffic light and its turning green is taking longer than we wish, we often experience a rising wave of resistance against the reality of our having to wait until things outside of ourselves allow us to go through the light. But our impatience can immediately be ended simply by bringing ourselves into the present moment, i.e., becoming mindful. When we do that, we stop our impatience; we see it without judgment. We let go of our attempt to make the universe do what we want it to do. We remember that the universe does what it wants, regardless of our preferences. Furthermore, we discover that there is nothing wrong with that. Remembering to be mindful when we are impatient creates a more spacious moment for us and we become more comfortable.
The more we work on remembering to be mindful, the easier it becomes. It’s like your life is one of those paint-by-number pictures and the more mindfulness you paint in, the more you begin to notice the mindfulness being there and the more the picture starts to look like your life, not just a bit of paint here and there. The more we remember to be mindful, on and off the cushion, the better we live, for ourselves and for our world. And perhaps most critically, when we are mindful, we remember to be grateful for this wonderful creation we are a part of, suffering and all. To be conscious is a miracle. Please enjoy it mindfully!
