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Humans 101
The Art of Chaotic Mindfulness
Intentional presence in everyday garbage fires
Odds are, you’re picturing someone cross-legged in an empty room, wearing athleisure pants and looking effortlessly chilled out. Mindfulness likely smells like a spa and tastes like a kale smoothie. It asks you if you’ve tried essential oils for your chronic pain. It probably has a bunch of well-organized, expensive highlighters for its Target notebooks.
When I talk to people about mindfulness — whether they’re clients at work, family, friends, my barista, some guy on the train — these are the images they tend to think of. Talking about mindfulness is actually the opposite of relaxing for many people, especially those who have dealt with a lifetime of invalidation surrounding mental and physical health concerns.
Who could blame them? Much like “self-care” and “coping skills,” mindfulness has become a mental health buzzword — a vague idea of something you should feel guilty about not doing enough. Like exercising, taking vitamins, and calling your relatives. I felt that way for a long time, too — and then I began working on a Dialectical Behavior Therapy treatment team. DBT is inextricably linked to mindfulness, so I began getting up close and friendly with the concept. This was when I really got to meet mindfulness for…
