MINDFUL MOMENTS
W
hen was the last
time you stepped out
the front door and
found yourself in a completely
unknown environment? When
each sensory experience, from
the sounds of the streets to the
air you breathe, arrests you to
the point where all you can do is
stop… and take it in? For Global
Interaction cross-cultural
workers Janelle, Scott, B and
Phil, the answer is everyday.
When they left the familiarity
of home to serve in Africa and
Asia, they expected their lives
to rapidly transform as they
adjusted to new languages and
ways of life. But what surprised
them was that the transition
also brought remarkable clarity,
calm and mindfulness.
resonate · issue 27 · page 4
Although mindfulness goes by
many names (like attentiveness or
carefulness) the practice is widely
regarded as a moment-by-moment
awareness of our environment and
an acceptance of the thoughts and
feelings that arise in response. It’s not
about emptying our minds or filling
them up with ‘happy thoughts’. Instead,
it’s an exercise in anchoring ourselves
to the present. Because mindfulness
shifts our focus away from past or
future anxieties, it has become a
popular prescription for good mental
health. (The recent adult colouringbook craze certainly attests to the
growth of this trend.) For those who
find colouring in the lines anything but
relaxing, there are also puzzles and
books and ironically even smartphone
apps designed to instil calmness and
harmony in our digitally-distracted lives.
But there is nothing novel about
mindfulness in a Christian context.
Throughout the Bible we read about
renewing our minds, taking every
thought captive and not being anxious
about tomorrow. Jesus certainly had
this covered, encouraging his followers
to slow down and consider the lilies
of the field (long before mindfulness
nature retreats came into vogue). My
discussions with Janelle, Scott, B and
Phil inspired me to do just that (no
colouring-in required).
What does mindfulness
mean to you?
For B, who teaches English in Central
Asia, mindfulness begins as an inward
awareness of God’s activity in her daily
life. ‘It is being really intentional and
conscious of God’s presence and what
is going on around me.’ The refreshing
consequence is that when she shifts
her focus onto the author of her faith,
she actually discovers more of the
person God made her to be.
Phil in South Asia has been on a
similar journey. He explains that as
he cultivates this self-awareness, he
develops a more deliberate awareness
of the needs of others. This is vital
to his work in supporting community
development projects in a desperately
poor part of the world. ‘I want to truly
see the people around me and not just
get tunnel-visioned about getting a
task done.’
For Janelle in Cambodia, being
mindful amidst the demands of the
team’s busy sports ministry is a daily
exercise in focus and diligence that
has strengthened over time. ‘I try to
constantly consider what the situation
is, what people are feeling and thinking.
It helps me take a step back and look
at it a bit more thoughtfully.’