Mindfulness is my own personal word-of-the-decade. Mindfulness is the polar opposite of multitasking, which is not at all what it sounds like. Despite popular opinion, multitasking does not enable you to get a whole bunch of different things done all at once. When you multitask, what you are actually doing is switching your attention incessantly from one focus to another, and giving none your full consideration. To multitask is to invest heavily in attention-switching at the expense of learning. A waste of your precious energy, multitasking frazzles your nerves and impairs your ability to focus. 

The antidote to multitasking is mindfulness.

Mindfulness can take the form of meditation, massage, prayer, yoga, stretching, walking, knitting, cooking, massage, playing piano, praying, hiking, reading, listening to music, swimming, fishing, camping under the stars, petting the dog, kicking a soccer ball with a child, or watching fish swim in their aquarium. But it could easily be a thousand other activities. Its essential character is to apply oneself so thoroughly to the task at hand that it minimizes interference from random distracting thoughts. Mindfulness is the self-care that connects you with your inner self. It refocuses your energy to help you understand what your body needs. It’s a key that opens the door to your own self. It is foundational to your identity, to your grounding in the world, and to your awareness of yourself. It’s your choice.

Mindfulness helps you learn to be comfortable in your own skin. It accepts you. It connects you. It likes your attention. 

I once saw a captivating video presentation on the subject of context. The video began with a man stepping into a cab. Music was playing in the background. Harsh, loud, angry music. Every intersection, every movement of every individual on the street, was colored by the music. A random passerby’s raised arms looked threatening. A policeman was shouting at someone, a child? Worried, distracted pedestrians appeared to be hurrying to their destinations. The images faded, and the first half of the video ended. Then the scene returned once again to the beginning, and the identical videotape played once more. This time, however, there was one significant difference. This time, as the man stepped into the cab, the soundtrack played gentle, pleasant, melodic music. Everything changed. Now it looked as if the random passerby with raised arms was conducting the music. The policeman seemed to be calling to a child in greeting. The pedestrians looked focused, but no longer frightened. The difference was remarkable.

The presenter’s point was that “you see the world through how you feel.” It is worth taking a moment to think about that sentence for a minute. It is not frustrating experiences that make the world a more frustrating place, but rather your response to those frustrating experiences. Frustration is a given, but your response to frustration is a choice that you make.

Mindfulness is a choice. Mindfulness is the place where “expect respect” and “be the change” intersect. When you give your mind time to rest, even for just a few moments, you send yourself valuable messages:

“I respect myself.”

“I am worth the best I can offer myself.”

“I deserve the best of me.”

“I am worthy.” 

And, indeed, you are.