The Mindful Way

A dear friend suggested I write about mindfulness. He said words to the effect that if we aren’t mindful we are nothing better than zombies. I filed his suggestion away and last Sunday I decided to engage in an experiment. Since I am still dealing with arthritis in may wrist and can only type with one finger, I would read the Times in mindful fashion. I would search the pages for more than the headlines, and I found quite a few words, phrases, and thoughts that were worthy of my attention.

One of those phrases was a title to a book — I Never Thought Of It That Way, How to have fearlessly curious conversations in dangerously divided times. I thought upon reading what a mindful exercise that would be. I haven’t read the book but can you imagine a meaningful dialogue with your polar opposite?

Listening is an art that takes training, temperament, and time, but when developed is the epitome of mindfulness. Consider a little listening training during this Lenten season.

About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.

2 Comments +

  1. Still seeking a mindful dialogue with my polar opposite; but patience is an astonishing virtue. Still, after 15 years I would have thought I would have made more progress! 🙂
    Very Mindful (as full as my mind can be!).

  2. What a timely and wonderful Pew! We keep working on our mindfulness meditation and can’t think of a better place to “plug this in” than during a conversation with our polar opposites. Thanks, as always, for your wise counsel!!

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