I’ve been thinking about mindfulness a lot lately. It sounds like such a good idea! You know, being fully present in this very moment. And yet, I struggle with the same problem many people do: my mind is all over the place…. except right HERE, right NOW.
I was recently online reading about mindfulness on the Psychology Today website. I read the following about mindfulness: “Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.”
Maybe it’s because of the type of work I am in, but I love people-watching when I am out in public. A few months ago, my heart broke as I sat with my husband in our favorite Mexican restaurant. At the table next to us, I watched a little boy try unsuccessfully to get and keep his father’s attention during dinner. His father was completely distracted; he wasn’t “living in the moment” and “awakening to his current experience” but instead, he was letting his life pass him by. In the tight spacing of the tables, it wasn’t hard to see what was so distracting to the father. He was enjoying social media on his phone.
If mindfulness means “living in the moment and awakening to your current experience,” I can’t help but wonder if social media is the antithesis of mindfulness. It makes me think of something I heard a long time ago. I don’t know where I first heard this phrase, but it has stuck with me because it is so powerful: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.”
So, back to my struggle to keep my mind right HERE, right NOW. I have a hard enough time being mindful without the added distraction of my electronic devices keeping me from spending quality time with those people I cherish. I don’t want to regret missing opportunities to look into their eyes and send a clear message that they are my priority. I don’t want to regret missing out on my real life from spending too much time on other people’s edited versions of their “real life.” I am determined. Lord, please don’t let me miss it! I don’t want to miss out on the gift!
Here at The Refuge Center for Counseling, we are committed to supporting individuals as they navigate their way through an ever-changing culture and strive to live consistently with their deeply held beliefs and priorities.
Quote taken from https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mindfulness
