Mindfulness - Enjoy the day

Our modern civilization has mastered one great art. We know how to stress ourselves out. We are always rushing somewhere, sometimes thinking too much, and always struggling with inner tension and insecurity. And with less than two days to go before the election, some of us are even struggling to think about things where we don’t have control. We will not be sitting at the negotiating table then, and our contribution is about one five millionth of the solution to the whole mess. We have to throw ourselves into the calm, we have to enjoy what is modernly called mindfulness. It’s also called meditation, although in Christianity we have a similar word - contemplation.

Our big problem is that we live in the past and the future. We don’t focus on what we have now. We’re constantly just figuring out what we could have done differently, what we did well, what we said where, what someone said about us. And then we deal with what we’re going to do in the future, how we’re going to keep our jobs, what our next position should be, and strive for it. And in the process, we forget that we’re supposed to enjoy today, too. And from that comes the fact that we completely forget to celebrate the day and celebrate the fact that we are alive, sort of.

We take it for granted that we’re here. But we don’t realize that it would be nice to take a moment to stop and enjoy the day, too.

We also often torture ourselves by thinking about things we can’t control. And instead of telling ourselves clearly that we simply have no control over this and not worrying about it, we run scenarios in our heads. Sure, I don’t want Orbán in Strakovka either, but can I influence it at this moment other than by going and voting? There is nothing else I can do, so I will go and vote and believe that I am not alone.

Of course, it is easy to say, but harder to do. You need to stop for a moment a few times a day and just focus on yourself. Enjoy the moment, don’t think about the past and don’t plan for the future. It’s purely about enjoying yourself and your surroundings.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness can best be translated into English as mindfulness or we have to make do with the old Czech word contemplation. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, to be aware of where we are and what we are doing, and not to overreact to what is happening around us.

Mindfulness is a quality that everyone already has, it’s not something you have to conjure up, you just have to learn to access it.

Types of mindfulness practice

While mindfulness is innate, it can be cultivated using proven techniques. Here are some examples:

• Sitting, walking, standing, and moving meditation (lying down is possible, but often leads to sleep);
• Short pauses that we insert into our daily lives;
• Combining meditation practice with other activities such as yoga or sports.

And what are the benefits of Mindfulness?

When we meditate, it doesn’t help to fixate on the benefits, but rather to just practice, and yet the benefits are there, otherwise no one would do it.

When we are mindful, we reduce stress, increase performance, gain insight and awareness by observing our own mind, and increase attention to the well-being of others.

Mindfulness meditation gives us a time in our lives when we can suspend judgment and release our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind and approach our experiences with warmth and kindness to ourselves and others.