"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?"
- William Henry Davies
Mindfulness is a way of being and responding to the world around us by paying attention to what is happening as it is happening.
It’s the wonderfully liberating opportunity to forget about everything else and focus on the simplicity of this moment. It invites us not to worry about the past or stress over the future, giving us the freedom to enjoy the present.
Mindfulness helps us to stop the automatic pilot when we do things without awareness or enjoyment, so that we can 'stand and stare', and take stock of what is going on. It does so without passing judgement or wanting to change or fix anything, so that the present becomes richer and more fulfilling as we experience afresh what we might normally take for granted.
As we allow things to be the way they are, new ways of responding to them emerge which are more in tune to the present thus causing us less anxiety and stress and thus increasing our sense of wellbeing and contentment.
Mindfulness can teach you to deal more effectively with any difficult situation you are going through and it has been proven to help manage anxiety and stress.