So he asked me about mindfulness. He thought my daily practice would have insulated me from frustration. Maybe kept me calmer. But I told him that wasn't necessarily so.
Some think that mindfulness means that we're always in a state of bliss. Floating on a cloud of lasting serenity. Unperturbed by whatever we encounter in life. But practice and experience teaches me otherwise.
One definition of mindfulness says that we're "fully aware of present experience - with acceptance."
But when I drift away from mindfulness I can find myself caught up in emotion as much as anyone. But mindfulness - being aware of myself- allows me to bounce back much quicker and get into acceptance.
Mindfulness allows us to look at our thoughts. Then accept them without judgement, letting them pass.
I'll never get to a place where nothing perturbs me. But I know I'm at a point now where I'm more resilient - and accepting of things that I used to let bother me for days.
