to be mindful is to be alive
Mindfulness - why is it important to me? It's a virtue I've always felt attracted to. Part of it may be the allure of mysticism and spirituality. I think the part that makes it concrete for me is the science. Maybe it's because I've struggled with being mindful. I used to think of self-awareness as one of my strengths, but I wasn't mindful enough to know, while it was something I valued, it was not something I practiced. Similarly, I can value kindness and honesty, yet not practice them. I think it's this contrast between what I value and what I practice that arises in me a cognitive dissonance. For me, it's a blinding, head-pounding, heart-wrenching dissonance. The moments when I've aligned my values with my thoughts and actions are the times I've felt most proud to be me. I find that I become confused easily. I tend to become so distracted by thoughts unrelated to the present moment and the feelings which arise because of them. Or I become confuse...