Minding Our Mindfulness

The Coronavirus Pandemic

For a long time now, I have covered the subject of mindfulness quite often. The more I continue to learn about it, the more motivated I get to share with anyone who wants to learn. It has become the true factor and catalyst in my own sobriety and recovery.

While I had casually understood it for many years, it is only over the past year or two, that I have really learned mindfulness in full depth and understanding. It’s a learning process that doesn’t end. It rather just continues to evolve and grow, as we ourselves grow. My goal was to get from learnings mindfulness, to practicing it, and then finally onto living mindfulness, every single waking day.

Once a true mental grip is wrapped around mindfulness as a whole, it can most definitely become an ever changing tool. One that does us good, every time we turn to it.

So, when looking at the subject at hand, how does a topic like this fit into the current covid 19 pandemic that we are still living in?

When brainstorming for this article, I tried to take a look at my own picture, as an outsider looking in. I worked on putting the equations all together, and just like with everything else, mindfulness fit into the current events just like it seems to fit into everything else in life. Especially when put together with judgements.

Putting the gears into motion, mindfulness showed itself in different ways.

I was brought back to lessons I learned in the past about being mindful. I remembered the things like learning how to take a non-judgemental stance, as well as other lessons about working to resolve my own issues about the judgements inside myself. The type that become better controlled and healed once I was able to make mindfulness a daily practice.

Mindfulness was a good tool to practice, as this pandemic, and quarantine life has long since set in. And it connects to judgements, like it often can. Judging both outward, and from just within ourselves.

I was able to realize that judging and being judgmental, had its place during this time. Even when it isn’t always appropriate. Posting judgement can oftentimes carry with it a negative vibe, and as we judge one another now, it does carry with it, very little quality. It’s a source for negative energy.

It can involve so many little things too. Some don’t want to wear masks, or some may be against wearing gloves. Some of us are washing our hands more than normal, and some might be hoarding more hand sanitizer than usual.

This isn’t really a time to utilize energy onto the judgments of others. Stressing so hard about what the next person is or isn’t wearing, or being the sneeze police, when it comes to where or what, another has directed their sneeze.

I am not making light about any of those things. But sometimes we have to face the facts that some people aren’t going to listen to guidelines, and some are not going to wear a mask the way we want them too. Posting judgement always pulls from our energy levels that drains us of energy, for no real constructive purpose.

It goes back to that old adage about how we can’t change anyone in the world except ourselves. We can put the brightest spotlight on any crowd of people and turn on a mega phone, as we yell at them to “change, or conform, or do as I do.” For the things that we can’t control right now, we have realize that we’ll never control them. Nor should we feel its our place.

The best thing we can do right now, is to make sure, we ourselves follow the rules in place. To make sure we keep social distance, and make sure we follow guidelines when it comes to masks or gloves.

When it comes to those who are at higher risk, or more vulnerable; keep in mind that each case may or may not be legit. We might find ourselves subconsciously judging others, thinking that they might be exaggerating, or that someone else’s stress or worry might be an overkill.

We have to remain mindful in these moments of ourselves. Practice mindfulness when it comes to the precautions being adhered to. Remain especially vigilant of what and who is around us.

Mindfulness means that social distance should be practiced by all. It is each person’s own responsibility to be social distant of the next person. Keep the focus on the “I” more than ever before.

Our mindful practices will get us through these wild times of ours. The success levels of getting through this in a timely manner, continue to be based on our own mindfulness of this pandemic. Be in the moment, and observe how each of us is doing their own specific part. Full cooperation, will work wonders. Minding our minds, will be the accelerators that we need.

-Thank you for reading.

Michael Patanella

is a Trenton, New Jersey Author, Publisher, Columnist, Editor, Advocate, and recovering addict, covering topics of mental health, addiction, sobriety, mindfulness, self-help, faith, spirituality, Smart Recovery, social advocacy, and countless other nonfiction topics. His articles, publications, memoirs, and stories are geared towards being a voice for the voiceless. Hoping to reach others out there still struggling.