Mindfulness

Attached to the epidemic of mental health in education is Mindfulness. In the late 1990’s this term began to rise in popularity with the merging of Buddhism and Western Psychology. In a nutshell, Mindfulness means living in the present moment. Simply put, it is being intentionally awake and more aware to each moment and your surroundings, with out judgement. For kids, that last past is where the project ends. 

Before mobile phones, there was plenty of mindfulness. Many adults can remember the days when a waiting room was a different place. Today, everyone is engaged in a device yet, when I was young, I had to be alone with my brain. Every now and then I may have seen a magazine to thumb through, but mostly, it was a bore. I was stuck with myself, having to wait. 

The point was, before the term ‘mindfulness’, there was plenty of time to be mindful. When you were told to wait, you waited. If there was nothing to read, then you people watched. Simple. On the other hand, today kids and adult are glued to the powerful device in their hands. They are getting the latest update by some insignificant social media personality or following some storyline of an online drama case. In other words, engagement in fantasy worlds.

This lack of mindfulness, in my opinion, is the root cause of many of our mental health problems in the youth today. That of course coupled with the violent video games, television shows, or news programs that focus on negative. Look at the television line-up on any given night and you will see shows like The Kardashians, Locked Up Abroad, Trafficked, Love is Blind, To Catch A Smuggler, Making a Murderer, CSI, Cops, Jail, and America’s Dumbest Criminals. The list is endless and could continue. With a lineup of shows like this, it is no wonder that mindfulness is lacking and we have challenges in our system today.  

Until next time...