Do you know people who simply must be on-trend? Who must be among the first to leap on something and ride the wave until just before it crests, which is when they leap off, at which point most of us begin to take notice, hop on board, and ride til it barely washes ashore, totally spent? You know the ones I’m talking about…it’s as if the thing itself—whether it be coffee or yoga or bottled water or juicing or what have you—has no intrinsic value, but only the level of the hip factor assigned to embracing the trend at a certain point in time. Kind of like Anna Wintour’s character in The Devil Wears Prada setting poor Anne Hathaway’s frumpy character straight when she explains that she may not think she’s influenced by the high priests of fashion, but that even when she plucks her cardigan sweater from the sale bin at Casual Corner, that sweater’s color, shape, neckline, and sleeve style were long ago imagined by a designer who has since moved way, way on.

I’m bringing this up because I’ve been seeing something trending for some time and I fear that it, too, will be embraced and ultimately discarded by a populace who is used to whoever has the media floor telling them what is valuable and worthy. There are some trends like, say, brushing our teeth twice a day, that managed to make the jump from a cool, interesting new thing to being woven right into our social fabric, so I’m hoping that the thing I’m referring to—the practice of “mindfulness”—is able to make that jump, too. And I will admit to rather self-serving reasons here; I just think the world would be a more pleasant place if we all got on the mindfulness bandwagon. Don’t you just get tired of people you work with, live near, drive on the road with, spreading their disgruntledness around? Not that mindfulness will necessarily make them less disgruntled, but at least they might recognize their disgruntledness (be mindful of it!) and begin to ponder its roots and possibly what might make them less so, and therefore more pleasant people for us to be around. There is someone this brings to mind immediately, but I will not elaborate as I still need my employment….what?! Oh heavens, no—I didn’t mean you! (In case this person ever actually reads this.)

Just so we’re on the same page, let’s define exactly what we’re talking about here when we refer to “mindfulness.” In a nutshell, it’s simply being fully in the present. Here’s a little illustration. I often go for a walk in the lovely, wooded neighborhood behind me, consisting of winding lanes with lots of mature trees and only the occasional car--very much set in nature, and really the perfect walking route. There are times when while on my walk I am very aware of the whooshing of the wind through the trees, the sounds of children playing, the smells of dinners cooking, the play of light and shadow. I might also be aware of a feeling of lift that winter is ending, a little excitement about what the summer may hold, maybe relief that some big project at work has ended. What’s outside of me and what’s inside of me. During these times, I am being relatively mindful—very rooted in the present…the now.

Other times, I may walk for twenty minutes or so and not have noticed a thing along the way because I’ve been churning the whole time about some situation that has upset me. I have been caught up in my little hamster cage mind, totally missing all that I experienced on my mindful walks—kind of like when you don’t remember driving from point A to point B because you’ve been deep in thought while still mechanically doing what you need to do to operate your vehicle. At such times, we’re not being mindful. Confusing, I realize, because we associate the word “mind” with thinking, and yet when we’re totally caught up in our thoughts such as when we’re ruminating over a troublesome situation, we’re not really fully in the present. Perhaps we need to change the name of this, maybe to “now-ness” or “present-ness.”

Anyway, this idea of being more fully present in the moment is gaining more and more attention in the world of therapy and education and the study of human behavior because of the benefits—physical, emotional, and mental--that have been attributed to it. Such as? Such as reducing stress and all of the negative by-products of it like high blood pressure and heart disease, enhancing decision making, reducing impulsivity, helping with depression, anxiety, and even addiction. The list goes on and on. Since the single most effective way to get yourself into a state of mindfulness is to be still and do deep breathing, focusing on your breath the whole time—the in and the out—this is not something that’s out of reach for anyone, really. No special equipment, expensive classes, or fancy workout clothes. Just sit and breathe. The ultimate in be-ing. Except that, apparently, you’re also doing something—something very good—for yourself. More to come on this.