Does it exist?
Using Uber, I can order a ride, a meal, a courier or freight service, a bicycle or scooter.
I don’t want any of these things.
What I want is a package of instant Mindfulness delivered to my door. I want it delivered right now. Preferably gift-wrapped and ready to use. I don’t want instructions about how to assemble Mindfulness using hammer and nails or heavy-duty liquid glue, or how to care for and water it so it grows.
Once I’ve got my package of instant Mindfulness, I’m going to put it in my purple handbag and carry it around with me, so I always have it.
Uber isn’t offering it at the moment.
Is anyone?
A Google search unearths a definition of mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn:
Mindfulness is the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.
Hmm. That’s not the sort of thing one can order. It can’t be packaged. It’s something that one is. It’s how one approaches things. It’s a take on life. A way of being in the world.
In The Gift of Presence, Caroline Welch, discussing awareness, presence and mindfulness, writes:
It’s the opposite of living on autopilot.
Mindfulness is the opposite of my normal reactive way of living. Mindfulness is flipping the autopilot switch to off, and focusing my full, fresh, unfettered attention on what is happening.
The German word über means over, above, or across. It also has the meaning of super — the best.
Mindfulness is all those things. It’s the best way to rise above, get over, or get across testing times or difficult moments.
If I’m hungry I can go to ubereats.com, order dinner and await its delivery. If I need a ride into town, I open the uber app, type in my request, and await the driver’s arrival. If I’m experiencing a difficult moment, I can settle instantly into a state of mindfulness (no outside uber assistance required).
Mindfulness is already with me all the time. I don’t have to wait for it. I just have to let it through.
No one can deliver it to me because I already have it.
So do you.
With love, Marlane
What can be delivered to your email address is the FREE 7-Day Mindfulness Challenge. Order yours now!