“Collect moments, not things.”
— Paulo Coelho
Mindfulness is the practice of bearing witness to the present moment with curiosity, non-judgement and compassion. The beauty of mindfulness is that you can draw on this powerful tool in any moment and at any time to support you.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, a pioneer in mindfulness and founder of mindfulness-based stress reduction, suggests that “the best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness”. By connecting with your senses — sight, sound, taste, smell and touch — you’re able to appreciate any moment in its entirety. This is the art of presence, as is a concept we explore in-depth in our Mindfulness Workbook.
7 key elements of mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Non-judging — cultivating awareness of what’s happening within and around you, without any judgement.
• Patience — a form of wisdom that allows you to let things unfold in their own time.
• Beginner’s mind — approaching the moment with curiosity, openness and a willingness to learn and be receptive.
• Trust — trusting yourself, your experiences and your feelings.
• Non-striving — being with yourself, just as you are, without needing to change, control or do anything.
• Acceptance — seeing things just as they are, and allowing them to be exactly as they are (regardless of how difficult things are).
• Letting go — mindfulness brings our attention to thoughts, emotions, situations or things we might be holding on to. Letting go is a process that occurs when we loosen our grip on what we’re holding on to.
The importance of mindfulness
Mindfulness is not just a tool we can use to extract the most joy out of moments in life. It’s also a powerful way to cultivate ease in challenging times.
Being mindful allows us to appreciate so many joys in life — from the taste of delicious food to the soothing sounds of nature to the warmth of connecting with your loved ones. But it also allows us to have grace in the moments that test us — such an unexpected challenge with our health, stressful experience at work or disagreement in a relationship.
This is the true beauty of mindfulness — being able to wholeheartedly experience life as it unfolds, moment to moment.
