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During challenging times, we are often advised to “stay in the present moment.” Mindfulness, as we call present-centered awareness, is an oft-prescribed antidote for focusing too much on an uncertain and sometimes frightening future. Remaining “in the now,” we are told, prevents worrying and catastrophizing about what may lie ahead.
Well, when times are particularly tough, maybe not so much. An intriguing study suggested that remaining mindful when the world is unraveling, which seems our present predicament, may not be the ticket to maintaining one’s sanity. What is? For many, a state of hopefulness proves more beneficial.
Now, I’m not here to knock the benefits of mindfulness. Clearly, it holds a prominent and well-deserved place in the self-care realm. Many studies show this mental discipline helps us calm ourselves, reduces worry (usually), improves attention/focus and prevents ruminating about the past. But there are no panaceas, and when we find ourselves in particularly gnarly circumstances, mindfulness may not deliver as promised.
Finding Reassurance
When one’s situation feels overwhelming or intolerable due to losses, despair, pain or other suffering, the “present moment” may not be a safe place. What could prove more helpful is a focus on a hoped-for better future, which affords some measure of reassurance.
The future is uncertain, which provides the mind space for imagining, including imagining something potentially good, something to offset what is currently distressing. The present, however, is certain. And when it sucks, remaining mentally immersed in it may suck as well.
Granted, meditating extensively may provide an escape, a diversion from the present ugliness, but this discipline and ongoing mindfulness are not identical. Mindfulness is a state of awareness intended to inhabit one’s daily activities, such as walking, eating, conversing, bathing, thinking, etc. And when such activities exist in a negative, fearful or distressing emotional atmosphere, those unsettling feelings come along for the ride.
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The alternative, hopefulness, doesn’t involve some pollyannish optimism or blind faith. It is the belief that the future will be better and includes engaging in efforts to help make it happen. So, hopefulness is not some passive trust fall into fate. It is an active process that integrates belief with action.
When the Covid pandemic and lock down hit, one of the most affected groups were musicians. Their performances and, therefore, livelihood essentially vanished overnight.
Expectant Hope
A team of researchers from Clemson and North Carolina State decided to find out how this particular group coped. They discovered that those who engaged in “expectant hope” fared better emotionally than those who practiced mindfulness regularly.
This isn’t to suggest mindfulness has no benefit during times of duress, but only that expectant hope proves more advantageous. A possible reason may be that mindfulness is not a call to action, while hopefulness is, and when we are beset by troubles, one of our greatest needs is for more control. Engaging in hopeful activities provides a sense of control.
In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) has a dream of getting out of prison, where he was unjustly jailed, and living on a beach in Mexico. His friend, Red (played by Morgan Freeman), tells him hope can be a dangerous thing.
And it can be if we don’t act on it. Andy did act and escaped. His hope propelled him forward. His actions brought it to fruition. Sometimes, expectant hope is what we need to break out of our own mental prisons.
For more, visit philipchard.com.
