How can mindfulness help us live well?

Every morning, a man walked his four dogs in the park. Three of them always darted about, barking happily, tails wagging with delight. The fourth seemed happy enough but would only ever run around in tight little circles staying close to the man as he walked. After a while, the park-keeper asked the man why his dog behaved oddly. The man replied, “She’s a rescue dog. She was locked up for most of her life. That was the size of her cage”. (Mark Williams, Danny Penman, 2023)
Have you ever behaved like that dog? Free to be at peace, but caged by the same repetitive thoughts. Free to be happy, but entangled by feelings of dissatisfaction and exhaustion.
We need to find a way to free our mind, to live well in this short and precious life. Maybe Mindfulness? My research has found that mindfulness can improve wellbeing, and this could be achieved through the attitudes of gratitude and self-compassion.

Gratitude
Mindfulness practice cultivates the attitudes of interest and thankfulness toward our daily activities, and this enables us to notice and appreciate those pleasant moments. For example, we will practice raisin meditation in the mindfulness-based program, and this can help us savour and appreciate one small raisin. The practice of mindfulness can lead us to be grateful for small things in our life, as one quote says, “I woke up. I have clothes to wear. I have running water. I have food to eat. Life is good. I am thankful” (Tiny Buddha).

Self-compassion
On other hand, mindfulness embodies a caring attitude toward ourselves in difficult moments, which could help us kindly accept and respond to our pain and sorrow. This is a way to protect our wellbeing. When we experience some difficulties in life like physical pain, the biggest suffering is not the difficulty itself, instead, it is our reaction to the pain like worries, fears, and a feeling of self-hatred. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
Through mindfulness practices like befriending meditation, we will learn how to bring friendliness and compassion to ourselves, and this is one of the most crucial skills that help us go through difficult.

May you savour small good things.
May you meet pains with compassion.
May you be happy, peaceful, and free of suffering.

With gratitude,
Wei

Certified/registered Mindfulness Teacher. Wei received professional mindfulness teacher training at the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation in the UK.
Wei is also a PhD student studying mindfulness and elite athlete mental health at the University of Wollongong. She is looking forward to sharing mindfulness with more people.

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