I wonder about mindfulness. It’s the ‘in thing’ at the moment. Everybody is being mindful; well at least they’ve done the course, be it for half a day or for three months in an Ashram.
They know how to body scan: to take off their shoes and feel the ground beneath; to check in on various parts of the anatomy, especially those places that are tense. And sure, if sitting down is not mindful enough, you can go on a mindful walk and even do a bit of mindful eating – never in front of the television though!
In truth, it is a wonderful science. As one who has struggled to pray and mediate in a Benedictine or Jesuit setting, I wonder what all the fuss is about. Isn’t it just an occasion to sit still and let the body catch up with the soul or the mind depending on your framework of belief?
There are a few things I have come to understand a little better about mindfulness. First of all, it is not a course; it is a practice, something that is done every day to develop an outlook and a way of being. Secondly, it hasn’t fallen off the trees. In many ways, it has been around for a long time in monasteries. From a Buddhist point of view, it is part of the process whereby one can become detached from what is destructive or unimportant or, from a Christian point of view, to become attached to whom or what is important. Thirdly, it has an ultimate outcome which is compassion. To start with self-compassion and move into compassion for others is the true ideal. As one of the great practitioners, Sharon Salzburg reminds us, ‘Loving-kindness and compassion are the basis for wise, powerful, sometimes gentle and sometimes fierce actions that can really make a difference – in our lives and those of others’. Mindfulness helps me greatly. It helps me get on the road towards what matters. However, I nearly always find myself coming back to a line from which compassion oozes –
when Jesus met the rich young man, he realised that the young man had a lot to learn and so the gospel tells us that ‘Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him’ (Mk.10:21).
Sabbath, in the first instance, is not about worship. It is about work stoppage. It is about withdrawal from the anxiety system of Pharaoh, the refusal to let one’s life be defined by production and consumption and the endless pursuit of private well-being. – Walter Brueggemann