Jon Kabat-Zinn founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre definition of mindfulness is:
When seemingly mindless events take place, that is situations or occurrences that appear to be the result of mindless or ill-considered actions, it is very difficult to resist the temptation to judge those responsible for such actions as dim-witted, thoughtless, greedy, self-centred and, well the list goes on. Particularly when one is paying attention to the the natural environment like the beauty of a flower, a beautiful song bird or let's say a tree, or maybe a bunch of trees.
We must accept the present moment, with all its possibilities. We need not embrace every single moment, but we do need to accept every single moment. That is why I have decided to employ empathy and understanding toward the dim-witted, thoughtless, greedy, self-centred idiots, all of them from Surrey Council to the project developer, the contractor right down to the mindless actions of the poor sod who cut all the beautiful trees down on the east corner of 16th and 128th in Surrey, well actually from the perspective I write about, Surrey but bordering White Rock.
My mother, the most lovely eighty-something you will ever meet must now wake each morning to the memory of those century-old trees that she truly loved I think, and the empty landscape they once completed. There was no need to cut down several mature spruce trees except they were 'in the way' of more easily completing a building project.
An investigation must occur. Why did this happen? Does anyone realize the unseen damage of felling trees has on a community, it's citizens and its wildlife? I can tell you, that the eagles and other birds, the squirrels and other creatures, the flora and fauna and the heart of my own mother have been changed by such a mindless act.
But now we must move forward, and accept that this travesty has taken place. We do not however, have to allow it to happen again. Mindfulness builds healthy communities. Mindlessness destroys them. That's not a judgment. It's a fact.
Alex Nichols
“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; in the present moment, on purpose and non-judgmentally.”
When seemingly mindless events take place, that is situations or occurrences that appear to be the result of mindless or ill-considered actions, it is very difficult to resist the temptation to judge those responsible for such actions as dim-witted, thoughtless, greedy, self-centred and, well the list goes on. Particularly when one is paying attention to the the natural environment like the beauty of a flower, a beautiful song bird or let's say a tree, or maybe a bunch of trees.
We must accept the present moment, with all its possibilities. We need not embrace every single moment, but we do need to accept every single moment. That is why I have decided to employ empathy and understanding toward the dim-witted, thoughtless, greedy, self-centred idiots, all of them from Surrey Council to the project developer, the contractor right down to the mindless actions of the poor sod who cut all the beautiful trees down on the east corner of 16th and 128th in Surrey, well actually from the perspective I write about, Surrey but bordering White Rock.
My mother, the most lovely eighty-something you will ever meet must now wake each morning to the memory of those century-old trees that she truly loved I think, and the empty landscape they once completed. There was no need to cut down several mature spruce trees except they were 'in the way' of more easily completing a building project.
An investigation must occur. Why did this happen? Does anyone realize the unseen damage of felling trees has on a community, it's citizens and its wildlife? I can tell you, that the eagles and other birds, the squirrels and other creatures, the flora and fauna and the heart of my own mother have been changed by such a mindless act.
But now we must move forward, and accept that this travesty has taken place. We do not however, have to allow it to happen again. Mindfulness builds healthy communities. Mindlessness destroys them. That's not a judgment. It's a fact.
Alex Nichols
White Rock, BC / Cambridge, ON - Earth, in 3D & 4D
