We are in a time when people are recognizing their privilege and figuring out what it means to have privilege.  We are also in a time when mindfulness is a buzzword. I recently went into a local bookstore to see the lobby filled with books on mindfulness.  Mindfulness is a popular google search and online one can find classes on mindfulness, quotes on mindfulness and mindfulness coaches. So I ask you, is mindfulness a privilege?   Is it a privilege to lead a mindful life? Is it only the privileged who can lead a mindful life?

I don’t have the answers but I do have some ideas.  At the very core of mindfulness is Buddhism. In fact, Right Mindfulness is one of the arms on the Noble Eightfold Path.   Right Mindfulness simply means to be aware of yourself. It is a practice of observing the body’s thoughts, feelings and other sensations. At its core, mindfulness means to be present in the body.  In this sense, mindfulness is free and accessible. We are to practice being in the present moment through observation of our thoughts and focusing on our breath.  

However, mindfulness is becoming synonymous with consciousness and is becoming an all encompassing lifestyle.  We apply the term from shopping to parenting. In this sense, mindfulness means being aware or present in any given aspect or activity of our lives.  It can also mean to not just be aware but to be thoughtful as well.  

From these definitions it may not seem like a privilege at all but something that can be accessed by anyone.  But here I present a complication. In my opinion, fear blocks mindfulness. If a person is living in a state of fear the thoughts and feelings of the body have taken over and the person has become those thoughts.  A person living in fear needs tools to access mindfulness most of all but do they even know how to access them? Does the idea of mindfulness seem like a luxury or privilege to them? I grew up poor and living like this creates a sense of fear.  There is a constant fear of not eating, not having a home, not having shoes or whatever monetary problem arises. I grew up always worrying about the future or daydreaming about the past when we had more money. 

At the basic core of mindfulness is something that is free and accessible to all but we have to know how to access it.  Yes a library card is free, yes there are free videos on youtube on yoga and meditation. But if someone is just living in a mode of survival for whatever reason, are these tools really accessible?  If they aren’t how do we make them available? How do we make mindfulness or consciousness for all a reality? I do not have the answers but I want to start the conversation.