5 Seconds Is All You Need: Facing The Challenges With Mindfulness

When I started practicing mindfulness,
I thought once I mastered this skill, I’d be in Zen mode 24/7, nothing could affect me. Me = Peace ✌️

After a while of mindfulness practice…
It’s not quite what I imagined.

The sneaky thoughts still come, all the time, and many of them still aren’t pretty.
I still get mad when people say or do certain things.

Even Thich Nhat Hanh said in his book that he felt pretty uncomfortable, and had to use a lot of energy to focus on his breath, when a journalist asked him a rude question.

At this point, you might wonder:
Why spend so much effort focusing on my breath or noticing the flowers around me?

Take a deep breath, and hear me out.

Even though I still face negative feelings and get emotional,
I’m now more able to observe myself from a third-person perspective:

“I’m having an angry thought..”
“I notice his words make me uncomfortable.”
“I feel a jealous emotion growing inside me.”

When you’re able to notice your mind,
you’re no longer controlled by it.

All you need is 5 seconds:
Notice.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.

In just those 5 seconds, peace is not far away.
Not total calm. Not instant relief. But space.
And in that space, you can choose how to respond.

That’s the point of practicing mindfulness.
People often ask some Zen masters, “Are you unaffected by anything?”
Most of them answer:
“Hey, I’m human too.”