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Can We Be Mindful

The document discusses the challenges of living mindfully in a society built for distraction. It notes that we are constantly "doing what we're not doing" by rushing from one goal to the next without being present. While technology has benefits, the rapid proliferation of devices that provide constant entertainment circumvent existential issues. True mindfulness involves being silent, focused on the present moment rather than letting the mind wander. However, it argues that peace is still possible through choosing mindfulness even for a few moments each day.

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33 views1 page

Can We Be Mindful

The document discusses the challenges of living mindfully in a society built for distraction. It notes that we are constantly "doing what we're not doing" by rushing from one goal to the next without being present. While technology has benefits, the rapid proliferation of devices that provide constant entertainment circumvent existential issues. True mindfulness involves being silent, focused on the present moment rather than letting the mind wander. However, it argues that peace is still possible through choosing mindfulness even for a few moments each day.

Uploaded by

tjm046
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Page 12 In Medias Res March 2008

Can We Be Mindful in a Society of Distraction?


Tom Milne
A few weeks ago I attended a public lecture on Bud-
dhism entitled 'Being MindIul in a Society Built Ior
Distraction. The lecture had a very simple message:
'Stop doing what you`re not doing. Now this might
sound rather contradictory, for how could you possibly
be doing what you`re not doing in the Iirst place?? How-
ever, upon further reflection, one realizes that we are
always 'doing what we`re not doing. As T. S. Eliot put
it, we are 'Distracted Irom distraction by distraction,
always rushing towards some unattainable goal which
we have somehow convinced ourselves will be the an-
swer to whatever gaping void we may feel in our lives,
never allowing ourselves to
feel the moment, the move-
ment of air in and out of our
bodies, the smell of a fresh
rainfall on the grass as we
walk by. One need not be a
Buddhist to recognize the
chasm between human beings
and true human existence.
Many have identified this lack
of mindfulness in modern so-
ciety, Irom Herbert Mercuse`s
One-dimensional Man, to
Charles Taylor`s Malaise of
Modernity, and Marx`s Ia-
mous concept oI 'alienation,
among others.
It seems at times as
though there is nothing but
distraction in our society. We
have 'advanced in the last
century so rapidly that we
have forgotten why we
wanted to develop certain
technologies in the first place. The point here is not one
of technology per se being an evil, but rather that the
rapid proliferation of technological entertainment has
allowed for us to circumvent existential issues by plug-
ging into some kind of device. It has become extraordi-
narily difficult to spend time just being silent, focused,
mindful. Whether this involves sitting under a tree lis-
tening to the breeze rustle through the leaves, or actually
being fully involved in a conversation with a loved one
rather than letting one`s mind wander to the score oI a
sports game, the text message on one`s cell phone, or
who Lindsay Lohan was flashing last night.
The problem is not that we as a people are in-
trinsically narcissistic or depraved, but that the very
structure of our society has seemingly de facto prohib-
ited participating in a mindIul liIe. Why is it that 'value
in our society is synonymous with productivity, capital
gain, and consumer demand? Should the concept of
'development really be restricted to economic growth
and the ease with which one can access a Starbucks?
Perhaps we need a paradigm shift where technological
advancement can be redirected towards humanistic
'values such as justice, solidarity, existential IulIill-
ment, and 'development oI personal relationships,
strong ethical standards in
business, government, and
environmental issues.
However, given a so-
ciety 'made Ior distraction
how can one possibly be at
peace? I myself have felt this
sense of alienation from my-
self and other people, hypo-
critically criticizing a society
of consumption, superficial-
ity, and atomism while letting
myself become just as dis-
tracted in my everyday life.
We need to remember that
every moment we have free
will, we can choose whether
or not we will allow ourselves
to be distracted, or lose our
temper, or treat another per-
son as an object. We can
choose, each moment, to see
the beauty in others, feel the
profound grandeur of exis-
tence, and be truly present in every moment. By taking
even just a Iew moments oI a day to be mindIul, to 'stop
doing what we`re not doing I believe that we can begin
to move our world towards one free of distraction, and
filled to the brim with peace and oneness.

Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and
in everything we do and see. The question is whether
or not we are in touch with it. We don`t have to travel
Iar away to enjoy the blue sky. We don`t have to leave
our city or even our neighborhood to enjoy the eyes of
a beautiful child. Even the air we breathe can be a
source of joy. (Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step.)
Translation: Spend time with the knowledgeable and
wise to learn, with the poor to become modest and
with the merciful to have the strength to forgive.

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