//MINDFULNESS OFFERS US THE
CAPACITY TO WAKE UP. WE BEGIN TO SEE THE PATTERNS THAT MAY HAVE HELD US BACK AND THE WAYS IN WHICH WE HAVE BEEN STUCK OR SAYING NO TO LIFE.//
What can you do and how can you lend voice to your community, whether it is in prisons, schools, hospitals, the young, or the elderly? We may very well need to sit with that question as an inquiry, allowing the answer to emerge in its own time from deep inside. The scientific term for humans is
‘homo sapiens’, meaning ‘the ones that have the capacity to know, and to know that they know’. This knowing gives each person immense power, if we are willing and able to use it. A more mindful unfolding in our society will
flower and blossom as the ripple effect fans out across the world. As Hugh Mackay in The Good Life says, “You don’t have to be rich to leave a positive legacy; you don’t have to be intelligent, famous, powerful or even particularly well organised, let alone happy. You need only to treat people with kindness, compassion and respect, knowing they will have been enriched by their encounters with you.”2 Picture a society where an
understanding and practice of mindfulness is as commonplace as the gym and exercise are to our understanding of health and fitness. Health is not merely the absence of illness. This is why some health insurers have started funding mindfulness classes just as they do for Pilates, yoga, and other stress reduction modalities. Perhaps there will be a juncture between religions and contemplation and mindfulness. We may find the fidelity to our own hearts’ desire to live from a place of mindful presence, so that we can each bring about a more mindful society. And if it feels like what you can offer
is merely a drop in the ocean of need, remember that oceans are just a lot of drops of water. l
This article is an excerpt from the book Mindful Relationships: Creating genuine connection with ourselves and others, by Dr Richard Chambers & Margie Ulbrick and is reprinted with permission from the authors.
1 Charles Eisenstein, The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible 2 Hugh Mackay,The Good Life
Connect with other readers & comment on this article at
www.livingnow.com.au
Margie Ulbrick is a relationship counsellor and family lawyer who is passionate about teaching people relationship skills
and working collaboratively to help people create nurturing, sustaining and loving relationships.
Dr Richard Chambers is a clinical psychologist and internationally-recognised expert in mindfulness. He is leading a university-wide
mindfulness initiative at Monash University and regularly provides mindfulness training to a growing number of businesses, educational institutions, and community organisations.
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