The First Step, Mindfulness: What it is and Why it Matters

How can we bring about change without first being aware of what it is we want to change?

Greater Good Magazine describes mindfulness as: the moment-to-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and surrounding environments, through a gentle and nurturing lens.

To be mindful is to be aware, to be conscious of ourselves, our thoughts, our actions, and of our surroundings. For many of us, we may find ourselves being the most aware when we are in our favorite place, partaking in our favorite activities, exploring the PA Wilds. It is here that to be aware is to be more than awake. In the swiftness of the trees, or gazing at the dark purple twinkling sky, it is here that our behaviors, our ideas, our values, matter most.

So, you see, it is in the most nurturing of environments that we must be the most gentle. To be within the wild wonderland that is the great north-central Pennsylvania region is to experience bliss, and serenity. It is something precious and admirable. History has shown time and time again that we cannot expect things to stay untouched, precious. No, we must actively work to preserve this unique woodland. We must consciously create a world in which all people have the right and the opportunity to experience such bliss.

The easy part of mindfulness is acknowledging and agreeing how beautiful and bountiful the rolling Allegheny mountains are. We can all feel that clearly something is luring about the lazy sunsets that paint the creeks pink. However, it is not these ideas that protect the virtues and rights of our forests and rolling farmland. For that we need fundamental practices, practices that begin at home.

How do we reach individuals and make that connection before they arrive?

That’s the hard part. I don’t have a simple answer, in fact, I have no complete answer; but I know where to start.

Being mindful isn’t one simple act or practice. It is a mindset. It starts at home; it starts when we wake up in the morning and ends about 3 seconds after we fall asleep. It sounds exhausting – but it doesn’t have to be! It can be quite the opposite. It can remind us that what we do matters. The direct impact, the direct effect of change that is often visible through mindful practices (i.e. planting trees, picking up litter, not littering in the first place), they won’t immediately save the world but they may just save the way you, or even the person after you, views it. A research paper discussing the correlation between mindful practices and action on climate change put it as “These actions, thoughts, and values, they lead to intensifying our experiences with nature, possibly fostering a stronger connection with the natural world, and could very well regulate behavior that has greater consequences.” (1)

If you’ve listened to any self help podcast or paid attention to the safety speech before a plane takes off you’ve heard that you must first take care of yourself before you can take care of others (put on your own mask before assisting others). This is still true for that hike you're about to go on, or that boating trip you’ve counted down to. If you’re unhappy you will be less likely to help make others happy. If your feet hurt because you wore those shoes that are two-years too-old, will you walk that empty water bottle to the nearest garbage can? Even further, will you pick up the trash you find laying around the bin that the wind blew out?

You might think you will, but actual studies have shown that when our basic needs are not fulfilled, everything else seems more impossible. (1)

This goes on to reach into every aspect of our lives. By practicing mindfulness techniques we can train our brains to be less afraid of the unknown. We can get familiar with not having all the answers – but still doing what we can in the meantime, and even feeling a sense of purpose and fulfillment from doing so!

So, now we understand the theory a little more; why does it matter?

It matters when we leave the mountain. What did we leave behind? What will the next person see when they first arrive? Is it still the pristine picturesque view you had? Or will they first notice garbage in the parking area. Was the parking area dilapidated? Hard to find? And what happens when that keeps happening? Then when funding comes around, and it’s based on the number of visitations, how many people stopped coming? how will that help maintain the public spaces we all love?

It matters when our children grow up. What will they value? Did they ever get to feel that first frozen icy breath from behind a deer blind as the sun came up? Or did our kids find something else to do because people kept disrespecting trails and therefore hunters were no longer permitted to use ATVs? Are there even any deer to hunt? Or did disease and lack of reporting sightings of sick deer and invasive species led to the decline of the forests that then can no longer support a healthy mammal population?

I bring up these scenarios to say, we can’t control everything. In fact, the only thing we can control is ourselves, and our actions. It is with our actions that we express what is most important to us. We feel the calling of the wild, it is why we are here, it is why you are reading this blog. Us, as conscious beings, are the only ones who can see the cause and effects of our actions for what they really are. So don’t steep. Don’t stop caring because someone else doesn’t. Be the difference. Be the change. Work hard to keep the bliss, the serenity, the stillness that is only found in wilderness.

To read the full paper (highly suggest) follow the link in the citation:

(1)Liu, Menchi, and Emily Valent. “Mindfulness and Climate Change: How Being Present Can Help Our Future.” American Psychological Association, Psychology International, Oct. 2018, https://www.apa.org/international/pi/2018/10/mindfulness-climate-change.

Step One is Mindfulness, as it is a great way to not only become aware of and acknowledge where the differences can be made, but also serves as a coping mechanism in teaching our brains how to tackle larger problems. Its what sparks our initiative to start doing things differently. No more plastic bags, no more littering, even further now you’re inspired to pick up litter, to invest in products that will last and are made from renewable materials, in companies and businesses that implement sustainable practices. Great! this is step two.