I found out this week that the image below is an ancient symbol for mindfulness:
I read that the top of the character is symbolic of the roof of houses in Japan and represents protection and presence- sound familiar? This is the Japanese character for house:
The lower part of the character (under the 'roof') is representative of the heart. This is the Japanese symbol for heart:
These two characters of 'mind and heart' combine in the character for mindfulness and it struck me as particularly beautiful as it really captures the meaning of mindfulness as so much more than 'being present' or 'awareness' but implies the meaning of mindfulness as being awareness from the heart.
How beautiful.
Now I am not an expert in Japanese characters in the slightest so I have endeavoured to fact check this and haven't found anything that states that I have made an error so I am hopeful that my reading is accurate.
For me this supports my whole approach to mindfulness- being kind, being thoughtful and aware of how we all impact the world around us. I think too often mindfulness is compartmentalised, categorised and put into 'boxes' which say how, when and where to 'do mindfulness'. I see it as something far more transcendental. It is about living, listening, caring, appreciating, sharing, loving... And something that is too big to be easily defined.
I will continue to share my thoughts and experiences of mindfulness but will almost certainly be giving a lot more questions than answers. What does mindfulness mean to you? Is lt possible to live mindfully in the busy 21st century?
Can you choose kindness?
