Mindfulness pushes our hearts to get involved in all our interactions. We often have a difference of opinion with friends and loved ones, but when so many children and adults are hurting, it is time to search for answers.

Technology brings communication closer, but as human beings, we seem to be emotionally depleted. Our physical world is smaller, but we know little about the inner world of others.

Make Mindfulness a Habit of the Heart

Maybe the quick jokes or heartfelt quotes on Facebook have a different and deeper meaning. Maybe our simple comment about the weather, or what we are planning for dinner, is actually an attention getter.

So much is freely spoken, yet so little is brought up for review or reflection. Is it our fear of the truth, which keeps us at a distance?

We want to be happy, of course, and everyone agrees to that statement. What we bicker about is how to get to that state and maintain it. The small comfort of praise, along with a dose of attention from coworkers or friends, lightens the heart the fastest.

Problems Bring Us Down

If life is handing us lemons, then our state of bliss begins to fall away, one piece at a time – unless others make an effort to support us. We downplay hurts or turn them into jokes.

I wonder if technology serves to cover our deeper feelings of loneliness and despair. We are all so close, yet so distant from others. We don’t have the time to give one-on-one visits to people.

Usually, we include a group in our correspondences, which may work on good days, but not during an unhappy time. Holidays are those times of the year when we must think about and include others. Mindfulness is crucial.

Older adults have much on their minds, along with memories and life disappointments. Health matters plague them, and they may not feel wanted. They want to be included like everyone else, but we miss the in-depth knowledge if we don’t cultivate some mindfulness towards them.

There is no shortcut to understanding the needs of another. Some elders make their own festivities by inviting a group of friends, or one or two.

We are very complicated, unique beings, even though we may laugh at the same jokes and have similar life experiences. Each of us faces a variety of challenges, along with a variety of attitudes towards problems. We view problems with a different lens and arrive at alternate conclusions. It leaves us in disarray.

We suffer through loneliness and or insecurities. But at any age, we can believe we are not enough even though we always are. Don’t sabotage your self. There are too many people out there who really need you.

Share Pain and Fear

There are few of us who want to share our faults or fears with others. We don’t get likes or praise on Facebook from deficiencies. If you apply for a job, and add qualities you lack, you won’t get the job. It makes us feel good when we are around others, but when we are alone, we struggle.

Older people, especially, feel lonely and sometimes worthless because they can’t accomplish tasks they used to be able to do. I know this can lead to anger and despair. That is the time we might need a real live person, who will listen, while we complain.

We judge our abilities against others too much. These other people are most likely embellishing the truth about who they really are. They downplay their faults, as much as we do. If we care about our friends, we must take notice of the meaning between the words they say.

There are no guarantees in life, but the more we stay emotionally connected to others, the more we keep the senses alive. A quick verbal interaction won’t tell the emotional story.

What the Heart Needs Is Love

The world is difficult to navigate but friends and family make it easier. The human touch or voice keeps us connected to others. We want the physical touch, as well as to see the human face and hear the voice in all of its emotional tones.

We can do so much with a kind word, smile, or hug than all the printed papers in the world. What power the human body and mind have when they choose to activate!

It is easy to get disconnected from others when one feels alone and unworthy. It’s time to wake up, see the pain beneath the surface, and reach out to family and friends.

For me, a great person who, perhaps, will never receive any praise for their actions, is the one who sees through my pain, and my shortcomings, and loves me regardless of my insecurities.

Whenever we take that kind of time and give it to another, we have given a priceless gift of love. Empathy should be taught at home, be reinforced at school, and applied consistently.

Don’t ever underestimate your value. There are people in our lives, who would be devastated and lonely without us. Others depend on our love, as we do theirs. Be watchful for the pain others attempt to hide and use your senses to guide you. Respond with empathy.

We can’t forget how to be a friend or how much it means to express our mindfulness of others. I know hospitals and schools love to have older people get involved with reading or talking to kids because so many children don’t have or see grandparents.

Life is not always helping those we want to help but helping those in need within our reach. Be mindful of those who need you.

What does mindfulness mean to you? Do you attempt to practice it in your relationships? What have you noticed as result of your mindfulness? Please share your stories in the comments below.