2. Life is not lost by
dying; life is lost
minute by minute,
day by dragging day,
in all the small
uncaring ways.
Stephen Vincent Benet
Mindfulness suggests we learn to show reverence for life in
at least three ways: First, we reverence time, in that we
learn to be “in the moment,” and discover what is eternal in
time; second, we reverence place, in that we are observant
of what our surroundings have to teach us about the world
and ourselves; and third, we reverence people, because
they embody a sense of community that we need, in order
to survive and to be a part of.
Mindfulness in our
Relationships
3. “Free your mind, and
the rest will follow.”MCELROY, THOMAS / FOSTER, DENZIL
“When you open your mind, you open
new doors to new possibilities for
yourself and new opportunities to help
others.”
Roy T. Bennett
4. MINDFULNESS: “It is hard work to listen mindfully”*
Mindfulness isn’t simply a way of thinking. It is a state of being. You don’t read a book,
and become mindful. You detach from selfish ways of thinking about others, from
making judgments, and sharpen your observational skills. This is not an easy process.
You get a lot of flack from your inner critic, who dislikes being ignored. But as your
observational skills improve, so does your appreciation for everything around you. Your
newfound gratitude lends a depth of processing and a state of tranquility you may never
have experienced before. You accept what is presented to you with equanimity: it’s
neither good nor bad, but an opportunity to learn something, or to serve someone.
*(Woods, 2014, p. 171)
5. Stuck? Stop! Think: Objective ➤ Effective
Time is too short to waste. When we become “stuck”
in a fog of thinking, or a pattern of destructive
behavior, it is imperative to change our thoughts and
behavior. We may need a gentle reminder that
humans are made to be in motion. Even the word
emotion has “motion” in it!
6. Do you have patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is
clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by
itself? ~Lao Tzu
7. Drop your script …
Don’t allow your
expectations of how others
should be or how others
should act to influence the
way you think about them.
Just observe them, non-
judgmentally. See them
for who they really are, not
how you think they should
be.
8. If the doors of
perception were
cleansed,
everything
would appear to
man as it is,
infinite.
~William
Blake
Tall, I feel tall...like
sails on a ship, like
eagles that soar.
Tall, like a tree
lifting up to the
sky, ever growing
and reaching so far
and so high!
~Doug Stewart
Can you “feel” tall, like a tree? Or endless,
like the ocean? Have you tried?
9. E·QUA·NIM·I·TY:
Mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper,
especially in a difficult situation: “she accepted both the
good and the bad with equanimity.”
MIndfulness in Confrontation: Inner peace begins the moment you choose
not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.
10. Their own remoteness
and elevation above
its feverish life kept
them from the
knowledge of much
that was strange, and
perhaps disturbing to
their equanimity.
Bret Harte, Devil’s Ford
11. Even a happy life cannot
be without a measure of
darkness, and the word
happy would lose its
meaning if it were not
balanced by sadness. It is
far better to take things as
they come along with
patience and equanimity.
~Carl Jung
13. If we are mindful in our Verbal and nonverbal interpersonal
communication with others, we will not be false. Mindfulness is
the opposite of being mindless. Mindlessness we can judge; we can
see and hear and feel when someone is behaving mindlessly. But
mindfulness isn’t as obvious. Perhaps because it isn’t flawed. It
cannot be broken down critically into specific actions or words or
behaviors. It is wholly integrated, in that we are authentic, and in
full acceptance of whatever comes our way. WE are “at one.”