Minister's Corner

Minister’s Corner

Mindfulness

Psychology Today describes mindfulness as:

“…a state of active, open attention to the present. This state is described as observing one’s thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad.”

Mindful.com describes mindfulness as “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” I describe it as the simple ability to pay attention to what you are doing. Often, our family will be sitting around the table and eventually, someone takes out their phone and, without getting up from the table, exits the conversation, and my sister scoldingly says, “BE HERE, NOW.” Point taken. And sooner or later, she reaches for her phone, and everyone repeats her refrain.

The truth is, we are distracted all the time. I’m frequently distracted while driving, preaching, eating, even sleeping. Being present to others and to ourselves is a rare gift. Mindfulness is something I’d like to explore with you during Lent. There are a lot of things to be mindful of, an exhaustive list that we won’t cover completely. Lent is a season of repentance, a time when we look ourselves in the mirror and task ourselves and each other with turning back and reorienting ourselves to God. To do that requires mindfulness.

​Here are the themes I’ve landed on for this mindfulness series: Repentance, Self, Creation, Compassion, Wholeness, Community, and Mercy. If we can walk away from Lent more mindful of these things, I’m convinced we will be better people and a better church. Look for an opportunity to participate in a 40-day mindfulness challenge beginning on Valentine’s Day, which is also Ash Wednesday this year.

Peace,

Scott