My mindfulness practice has helped me cultivate an attitude of trust, which is real important when navigating the turbulence of life. Let me try to explain.
Trust means that we believe in the benevolence of life—the basic goodness in ourselves, others, and the world. At the core we believe that all will be well, even when we can’t see how.
As we meditate, we discover that we can be with whatever is happening within us and around us. We learn that we can acknowledge what is true without getting overtaken by the experience.
When we experience strong emotions like anger, fear, or grief, our tendency is to block them out. We eat them away, drink them away, or work them away.
Mindfulness helps us create space. We can pause, breathe, and be with feelings as they are. We can ride the waves of emotion as they swell and subside.
When we experience pain or illness in the body, we often ignore it, deny it, or even decide to live from the neck up completely forgetting that we have a body.
In a mindfulness practice, we bring our awareness to all the parts of the body, including the area that isn’t working now. We do this with patience and kindness. And maybe even with appreciation for the magnificence of the body as a whole.
Having a mindfulness practice builds resilience. When bad things happen we trust that we have the where-with-all to survive it and eventually even thrive.
When we make mistakes, we still believe in our inherent self-worth. We can own our mistakes, apologize, and take that wisdom forward. We trust even if our behavior was off, our intention was to do no harm.
Mindfulness helps us build trust in ourselves, who we are, and what we stand for.
Reflections for the Week
– In which situation do you want to have more trust with?
– What’s the benefit of having more trust? What’s the risk?
– What’s one thing you will do this week to practice trust?
May this help you take another step along your mindful path!
Cheryl
