People have shared with me how they are reluctant to practice mindfulness because they’re afraid of becoming passive or too contented with the status quo.
For them, being present and observing themselves with awareness means being in a state of “inaction” and hence not striving forward and choosing to remain stagnant.
In reality, mindfulness as a way of life is meant to be purposeful and progressive.
We put wise effort into letting go of the past (e.g. destructive thought patterns, negative emotions, or behaviours that no longer work for us), and evaluating how we can be living better in the present, so as to continue living well into the future.
It is a practice of getting “unstuck” from unhelpful patterns and moving forward with more helpful ones. This is the key reason why we need to be present. We need to first be aware before we can change and improve.
The sole purpose of practicing mindfulness is to lead a more wholesome life.
In this Take A Pause session recorded on 29 December 2024, I guided the TAP community in a simple breath and body awareness practice, followed by a contemplation along the timeline of the past, present, and future:
PAST - Reflecting on how we have lived over the year, what we have been holding on to, and what we can let go of.
PRESENT - Reminding ourselves of our capacity for change, and the strength we have to let things go and to redesign our life with more intention, thoughtfulness, and wisdom.
FUTURE - Evaluating how we can move forward into the new year, what we can do better, and how we can live better.
I closed the session by sharing an excerpt from Brianna Wiest’s book “The Mountain is You”, to which we practiced mindful listening.
Meditation begins: 07:19
Contemplation begins: 17:56
Reading begins: 27:55
Meditation + Contemplation Duration: 20 minutes 30 seconds
Your new life is going to cost you your old one.
It’s going to cost you your comfort zone and your sense of direction.
It’s going to cost you relationships and friends.
It’s going to cost you being liked, and understood.
But it doesn’t matter.
Because the people who are meant for you are going to meet you on the other side.
And you’re going to build a new comfort zone around the things that actually move you forward.
And instead of liked, you’re going to be loved.
Instead of understood, you’re going to be seen.
All you’re going to lose is what was built for a person you no longer are.
Let it go.
— Excerpt from “The Mountain is You” by Brianna Wiest
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