Why is mindfulness important?

Mindfulness asks us to make a concerted effort to pay attention to what we are doing. It asks us to refrain from judgment and stop making assumptions. It tells us to take on a beginner’s mind, opening us up to a new world of possibilities. Mindfulness is a difficult practice, but it gets easier over time. Mindfulness teaches us to live in a way that is conducive for mental health. It allows us the opportunity to pause before engaging in habitual behavior.

You know the kind of behavior that I am talking about.. the numbing behavior. It invites us to pause and ask ourselves why we are searching for the bag of chips or why we are impulsively reaching for our phones. Mindfulness reduces the level of attachment to our thoughts and as a result it also reduces the need for social comparison.

And as we know, social comparison is the thief of joy and the fuel for anxiety. Mindfulness asks us to pause and bask in a sense of gratitude for all of the things going right in our lives. It reminds us that as long as we are breathing there is more right with us than wrong. Mindfulness emphasizes Metta, a form of loving kindness, which in turn increases empathy. If we put forth the effort to be more mindful we blossom into a better version of ourselves.

For more information on Mindfulness join the Mindful Mothering Facebook Group