Key to mindfulness is not to completely empty our heads of all thoughts, but to let our thoughts wander freely while we're paying attention to details in our surroundings. When we do this, subtle signals, otherwise lost in the noise of everyday life, come to the forefront. The deeper significance of these signals are analyzed, without prejudice, and we become aware of what's about to happen.
Budding problems are identified, and can be dealt with immediately. Likely consequences of impulsive tendencies get analyzed, and we avoid acting on them. Things fall into place, and we realize what we have to do, what we must not do, and how to go about doing and not doing things.
This is why we feel refreshed after a bit of gardening, a walk through town, an afternoon nap, meditation, listening to music, etc. Such activities bring order into the myriads of signals that we are bombarded with every day. They help us establish a hierarchy of actions that we can use as a plan going forward. Not only do we know what to do, we also know when and with what determination or insistence to act.
Another word for this type of action is love. Since the actions we undertake are void of judgement, they are pure purpose. They have no other goal than to better the situation for ourselves and our loved ones. Mindful people do not seek to belittle others or gain undue advantages, because such actions are counterproductive. Sustainable, purposeful action benefits everybody. No-one is sacrificed. Mindfulness is neither altruistic, nor naive. It's love and truth in every way, including the myriads of little wars we're constantly fighting.
We are all involved in some kind of war at some level. There are plenty of people who seek to leach off of that which is ours. There's a continuous battle for our minds and souls, with the ultimate intent of gaining control of our properties and labor. Many of these enemies are fiendishly clever. They know how to manipulate feelings and make people act on impulse in ways that are rash, irresponsible, naive and altruistic. However, mindful people catch on to what's going on. They are much harder to fool. They see through the deceit, and find ways around it that the other part cannot easily discern from compliance.
The enemy is constantly weaving a complex web designed to bring us out of balance. They try their best to sow chaos so that we act against our best interests. They scare us with real and imagined bogeymen so that we beg for protection. They put us up against our neighbors so that we no longer trust anyone. Desperate for protection and help, we pay taxes, join in other people's wars and offer up our liberties for others to use as they please. If anyone protests, they are immediately labeled as dangerous. They are quickly taken hand of by authority figures who pretend to act in the best interest of everybody.
The way to deal with war is neither to submit to the enemy, nor to oppose the enemy in vocal and visible ways. The strategy that works best is that of deception towards the enemy and love towards our allies. In this way, we retain control of our lives and possessions without ever letting the enemy know what we're up to. However, for this to work properly, mindfulness has to be practiced regularly ahead of storms. We must have a clear idea of what's going on, what the uncertainties are, and where the enemies lurk. When a storm hits, we have no choice but to act and think without judgement in the present. But that requires us to know what the right actions are, and that knowledge must necessarily have been acquired ahead of the storm. It's our mindfulness in the past that allows us to steer our ship with confidence through a storm in the present.
The opposite of mindfulness is attained through undue attention to gossip, party politics and tabloid news. These things divert our attention away from the immediate and onto that which is distant. It frequently makes us angry and frustrated. It prevents us from thinking rationally about things. We must therefore be careful in our dealings with this kind of information. We must recognize it for what it is, namely propaganda. Gossipers, politicians and journalists aren't telling us what we need to know. On the contrary, they are telling us what they want us to believe, irrespective of what is actually true.
Once this is properly understood, gossip, news and party politics take on a completely new form. It no longer serves as something we need to agree on or disagree on. Rather, it serves as a compass for us to steer by. It tells us what our enemies are up to. Looking through their deceptions we may even see an oncoming storm.
Fortunately for us, truth and certainty is relatively easy to pick out from untruth and uncertainty, provided we approach the information in an immediate and judgement free way. Mindful contemplation reveals to us what the contradictions and uncertainties are. We discover that truth and certainty is scarce. To navigate safely through life, we must never assume too much. We must constantly look for changes and act accordingly. There is no other way. As Plutarch stated 2000 years ago: "Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse."
By maybe Allan C. Green or George Schutze or maybe Alexander Harper Turner - This image is available from the Our Collections of the State Library of Victoria under the Accession Number:, Public Domain, Link
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