Staying Openhearted in Uncertain Times
The Power of Presence
Apparently, this year’s Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on February 2 and tucked himself back into hibernation—not great news for those of us in the Northeast. We may be in for six more weeks of brutal cold. Yet, being bundled up isn’t so bad. No complaints, given the fires in LA. And I was delighted to learn that groundhogs across the U.S. have differing predictions. Take Staten Island Chuck, who forecasted an early spring for New York, whereas General Beauregard Lee (Jackson, Georgia) predicted another long winter.
And so it goes.
Unpredictability is a fact of life. These days, we seem to be facing more uncertainty than I care to admit—to the point where moving to another country feels like a reasonable option. But as Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of the mindfulness movement, wrote, Wherever You Go, There You Are. It’s a great primer on cultivating presence and letting go of the emotional baggage we carry.
He also wrote a seminal book in 1990—my introduction to mindfulness, which I listened to on cassette tapes during round trips from Long Island to Boston in grad school—titled Full Catastrophe Living. The book’s subtitle, Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness, offers a guide for navigating our often chaotic world. Since its release, hundreds, if not thousands, of books and apps have emerged on mindfulness, yet his work remains timeless. His teachings also launched an entire field of research on the benefits of mindfulness practice.
I’m so grateful for this body of work.
Here’s the bottom line: Mindfulness is good for you. And it’s good for others. It may be more crucial than ever. Kabat-Zinn’s classic definition of mindfulness is “being aware of the present moment as it unfolds, without judgment.”
When I wrote The Kindness Cure: How the Science of Compassion Heals Your Heart and the World, it was both a legacy gift for my daughters and a way to process the 2016 election. Kabat-Zinn’s work is like a red thread woven through my book:
“What is less widely known is that mindfulness is essentially a practice of compassion, for both yourself and others. In the Chinese ideogram, ‘mindfulness’ consists of two symbols: one represents ‘presence’ or ‘now,’ and the other represents ‘heart’ or ‘mind.’ So mindfulness can also be translated as ‘presence of heart’ or ‘heartfulness.’ Other expressions—‘caring mindfulness,’ ‘affectionate attention,’ or ‘loving awareness’—also highlight the connection between compassion and presence.
My favored term is kindfulness, which I define as experiencing the present moment with heart. We can take ourselves much too seriously in mindfulness meditation and forget that the energy of kindness is at the heart of the practice.
Kindfulness brings a loving spirit to mindfulness as you look at your experiences through the lens of curiosity, wonder, and appreciation. You can shift from stressed to blessed.”
I feel we are at another crossroads.
We must be present to our own experiences, stay openhearted, and remember our humanity.
It’s too easy for the body to retreat from discomfort, to hibernate in search of safety. But mindfulness practices allow us to hold space for both suffering and joy—no matter life’s storms.
Ways to be more present in your life:
Find a few minutes of silence each day.
Place a hand on your heart and breathe slowly.
Listen to a meditation app.
Go outside. Look up at the sky.
Create a calming playlist.
Do your ordinary tasks with intention.
Go slowly.
May you find solace in small moments, often.
Photo Credits: iStock; Etsy