Mindfulness is something everyone’s talking about these days, but it’s often not well explained. At its core, mindfulness is all about self-observation. When we’re not being mindful, there’s no self-awareness happening. We’re going through the motions—thinking, feeling, talking, and doing—but there’s no internal observer keeping track. Without this self-check, we can’t recognize when certain thoughts or habits are making us or others unhappy. Essentially, we become a mix of automatic instincts and routines. These instincts can handle amazing tasks, like driving a car on autopilot or reading a bedtime story without really paying attention.
The focus here is on our suffering, or more specifically, the quality of our experiences. Without self-observation, we have no way to stop ourselves from feeling dissatisfied or unhappy. When we start observing ourselves, we can see the impacts of our thoughts, words, and actions, and make necessary changes. We might see that certain thoughts make us anxious or upset and recognize that these thoughts may not even be true, allowing us to let them go.
Mindfulness offers two kinds of freedom: freedom from and freedom to. “Freedom from” means breaking free from the control of habits and instincts, and thereby reducing the suffering they cause. Being mindful doesn’t make these habits disappear, but it makes them less likely to dominate our minds. Instead, they become just thoughts and desires that we notice and choose not to act on.
This is transformative because it changes the way we live. We also gain the “freedom to” create new ways of being. We can choose to be kinder, for instance. If we remember that kindness is an option, we’re more likely to act kindly. Recalling the feeling of acting kindly makes those qualities more likely to appear. By freeing ourselves from negative thoughts, we open up to more empathetic and loving ways of thinking.
What applies to kindness also applies to patience, curiosity, courage, acceptance, appreciation, reflection, and other positive qualities. Mindfulness gives us the freedom to choose to be different.
In short, mindfulness allows us to stop causing suffering to ourselves and others through unthinking habits and to build positive habits that improve our lives and positively affect those around us. It’s both a freedom from negative patterns and a freedom to cultivate positive ones.