Equanimity Amid The Flux

The Buddha taught mindfulness as the appropriate response to the truth of Duḥkha, usually translated from the Pali, somewhat misleadingly, as "the truth of suffering."

A better translation would be unsatisfactoriness.

Suffering may not be inherent in life, but unsatisfactoriness is.

We crave lasting happiness in the midst of change.

Our bodies age, cherished objects break, pleasures fade, relationships fail.

Our attachment to the good things in life and our aversion to the bad amount to a denial of these realities, and this inevitably leads to feelings of dissatisfaction.

Mindfulness is a method for achieving in equanimity amid the flux, allowing us to simply be aware of the quality of experience in each moment, whether pleasant or unpleasant.

Described this way, this may seem like a recipe for apathy, but it really isn't.

It is actually possible to be mindful and therefore to be at peace with the present moment, even while working to change our lives for the better.

This duality becomes clear the more you engage in mindfulness practice, so why not drop everything and get back to your practice right now?