Mindfulness is the ability, the deep connection, the strong willpower, and the intense desire to feel the enchantment of this moment. Mindful people protect their present. They don’t ruminate about their past or future. Because their present is so fascinating.

In the words of Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Mindfulness is as much play as it is work. It is a throwing yourself into the dance, whether the music is of your liking or not, as something of an experiment or adventure, in reclaiming your life to whatever degree possible. And we cannot know what is possible unless we throw ourselves into the dance”.

What is your past and future? They are nothing but your present – this moment. This moment is your next second, your next minute, day, week, months – and so this moment, is your future. You can experience ‘the future’ only in your present. We make our future through the quality of ‘this moment’.

Similarly, “the past is a fundamental part of our present and future”, as Eckhart Tolle, a German teacher of Mindfulness explains. If you carry a heavy burden of past experiences in your mind, you might experience more of the same. People don’t realize that a significant part of the unhappiness in their lives is actually generated by negative mind activity, and they don’t even know it. Mindfulness therefore is discovering the simple fact that there is a voice in your head that continuously comments on your life.

And so, when you realize the power of the present, a deeper meaning of who you are, emerges.