Mindful Living: Harnessing the Power of the Moment

Abstract

Dr. Lopez sat across from me in my office gasping for air, crying and repeating: “I can’t do this, I can’t do this, I just can’t do this anymore.” Filled with compassion, I wondered what had created the profound sense of helplessness and exhaustion I was witnessing in this young man. After what seemed like a long while, he said, “I just don’t know what to do. That is why I called you, Kathy. My friends told me I really had to.” At that I responded, “Tell me what you can about what is going on for you. Help me understand what it is like to be you in this very moment.” He proceeded to tell me that he had finished his fellowship only 3 years before and that his life was not at all what he had expected it to be.

“A person paying attention with purpose to the present without prejudice or judgment.”— The definition of mindfulness, Adapted from John Kabat-Zinn