Being Mindful is Easier than You Think

Our mind is often described as a maze of wonders and deceit. Even at the reality of us being the only player looking for an exit, we would still be lost in the endless labyrinth. Living in the fast lane, having different life challenges being thrown at us at every end, we found ourselves facing dead ends.

At the very thought of it, many would find it unbearable, breathless even,

How can we cope with the huge volume of uncertainties?

How can we ever put our restless mind at peace?

An issue that has been faced by many, at any given age, people with different cultures, different set of personalities, scattered at different parts of the world, but not many have the answer to the questions we have been asking ourselves.

Our mind is constantly being bombarded with different aspects of life at every second of our time, but where is the time for us to rest?

Instead of rushing for our deadlines, crossing the tasks given at the speed of light, imagine how big of a difference it would make, in the scale of performance, if we slow down our engines, take one step at a time and focus on one single thing.

Now, how do we do that? How do we clear our mind?

The first thing I do, like any normal human being, would do, is to search Google because I know nothing about how to not overstress my mind. One particular practice came up in almost every article I have read through the search engine.

PRACTICE BEING MINDFUL.

What does being mindful means? Here is a short definition of what is mindfulness.

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

The act itself wants us to stop having our mind wonders at every end intrigued by curiosity, instead, we should let our mind slow down its processing pace and fully attends to what’s happening, what we are doing to where are we going. You see, our mind is like a hamster ball that is constantly on the run, we often veer from one matter to the next, without any stopping point. Our mind takes flight as soon as another comes into our sight.

We are blessed with different senses that speak for their own but rarely we let them take a view of what we have at the current moment. We are always engrossed in obsessive thoughts that ventures from something that has just happened to stressing on what may the future holds. This forms the roots of anxiety.

The practice of mindfulness is not difficult, you might find it familiar and reassuring. It is within our reach as it is a quality that every one of us has already possesses. It is not something we have to create anew, in fact, all we need to do is to learn how to be fully aware of what we are doing. Maintaining the power of awareness, letting our senses speaks, genuinely understand the feeling at its natural state is being mindful.

Inserting short pauses into our daily hustle bustle, merge the breaks with meditation and other practices such as yoga or other recreation activities, mindfulness can be cultivated. By being mindful, it allows us to put an ease to our stress levels and improve our performance on work tasks. Most important, it helps us in enhancing our insights and attention on where it matters.

By establishing a healthy balance in our hectic lifestyles, it benefits us in many ways such as unleashing many of our hidden talents as it is essential in testing our mental capabilities as maturity grows. It acts as a guidance in opening our eyes to the world, educating us in our perception of different aspects, assist us in the understanding that there is more than one perspective in life. It brings our experience closer to our hearts and you could say, it affects our empathy level as well.

“In today’s rush, we all think too much, seek too much, want too much and forget about the joy of just being.”

- Eckhart Tolle

When we become more aware that there are many perspectives in life, we tend to understand more about how things come about. Hence, we would be more kind to others and most importantly, ourselves. This simple practice explains the very core of how to be a human being, it recognizes the best of who we are as individuals and as a community. It doesn’t require a change to our beliefs as both acceptance and awareness hold the key to the success of mindfulness. It is more than meditation, more than a practice, it encourages everyone to put extra care into everything we allow into our life.

The answer is always around us but hidden beneath the increasing complexity and uncertainty of life. Let your mind breathe and get connected to the present.

Take a look at the sky, what do you see.

Close your eyes, what do you hear.

Give your senses the voice they have been dying for.

You may not master it at the beginning but what matters is the fact that you are already taking that first leap of faith.

That, my friend, is growth.

I’m proud of you.