That change is constant is one of the main things we realize early in practice. Just to sit for 30 minutes lets us see the constant movement in our internal life, the coming and going of thoughts or the changing emotional reaction to simply letting our life be, as it actually is. Fears and doubt easily arise, leading to a feeling of being separated from your Self.
Mindfulness practice tells us that the best way to work with change is to look inside, to be curious and increase our interior freedom in the face of our inner afflictions. This can help us to avoid holding onto situations or alternatives that are actually unhealthy. When we bring mindfulness to bear on our life’s situation we try to stay true to the underlying values that bring real freedom.
Being open to the reality of change and not holding on is healthy, for just as we are beginning to see around us these days in nature, parts of our lives have to fall away, lie fallow and die so that what needs to emerge can do so. Trusting this process means that we can come to see that what we thought once was vital and solid for our life is not necessarily so. Much of our sense of Self is based on the past – what we recently were and what we perceived to be important. Mindfulness practices helps us stay in the present, not defining our life by the past nor living in our fears about the future.
