Please, read this.

It is important. 

We live a culture defined by consumerism, materialism and addictions -- so often we feel we're not enough, and we're constantly trying to fill a void with more "stuff." Why is American society in particular so in need of gratitude, and how can we cultivate this sense of appreciation and abundance when we're socialized to live with a sense of lack?

One very articulate writer on this subject, Anne Wilson Schaef [author of When Society Becomes An Addict], has described ours as an addicted society. Whether it's consumerism or addictive substances or just keeping ourselves busy or being online or working 80 hours a week, we have things that keep us busy because, in some ways, the culture wants us to keep engaged and not to look around much... not to see the struggles of people, the continuing injustice, the economic disparities, the people who are hungry, climate change. What becomes clear is that there's no outer fix or satisfaction -- no amount of computers, no amount of nanotechnology or biotechnology and all the great things that we've developed that will stop us from continuing warfare, racism and environment destruction.

Those outer developments have to be matched by a transformation of human consciousness to realize that we are interdependent and we depend on the air we breathe, and on people in other nations as they depend on us. We are woven, as Dr. Martin Luther King said, into a single garment of destiny. When we see this, we begin to realize that the values of consumerism and getting more and more -- which start to become emptier and emptier -- don't satisfy the heart. When we look at what's satisfied us in the past week or month or decade, it's been the connections, the love and the openness of our lives to the places we've traveled and the people we've met. This really is the basis for gratitude. Then we start to sense that it is possible to live with a quieter mind and an open heart, and with a sense of satisfaction within ourselves -- it's the satisfaction of well-being.

We are beginning to witness the seeds of this shift taking place, with the recent explosion of interest in meditation. (This year, for example, TIME declared a "Mindful Revolution" underway in American culture). You've been a key player in bringing Buddhist practices to the West for more than 40 years now. How have you seen attitudes towards mindfulness shift in that time?

Mindfulness, in the beginning, was associated mistakenly with a religious practice, when in fact Buddhist teachings, at their essence, are a science of mind which simply offer us these universal trainings that can steady and balance our attention, and give us a deeper connection to ourselves and one another. Fortunately, with all those 3,000 research studies that I mentioned and the great neuroscience that's been done, it becomes clear with the understanding of neuroplasticity that we can train our mind and our heart through attention. It helps schoolchildren, it helps in healing and clinics, and it helps attention, whether you're writing computer program or a business plan or making love or creating a piece of art -- the ability to steady the attention to be fully present is an enormous gift. I've seen mindfulness as a training and as an opportunity for the growth of presence and wisdom to be spreading in all these areas. I'm really happy for the benefit that it's bringing.

Some critics of mindfulness have argued that the practice is too focused on the individual, at the expense of fostering a spirit of collectivity and positive social change. Do you think this is true? How do giving back and service figure into a spiritual practice?

It's very simple. There's a saying, "There are only two things to do: Sit, and sweep the garden." This is like breathing in and breathing out. You quiet the mind and the heart so that you're connected to yourself and listen to what really matters. Then you get up from that stillness, and if people are hungry, you offer food. If there's injustice, you offer yourself for the healing of that injustice.

In fact, it allows us to become agents of change because we are actually attentive and present for what is without being overwhelmed by it and without distracting ourselves. In that way, mindfulness is actually one of the necessary components of making a real transformation in whatever field or dimension of society we would choose. It supports it, and it leads towards it, and it allows people to do it without burnout. If you work for good causes but you do it out of anger and frustration and guilt -- and all of those other motivations I've seen among activists I've worked with -- you will burn out. But if that same compassion and care comes instead from the power of love and steadiness and a deep devotion to what is just and right, it has equal if not greater power.

Mahatma Gandhi took one day a week in silence, even in the midst of marches of thousands and the ending of the British coloinal empire. When everything was in the middle of this huge transformation, he would say, "I'm sorry, this is my day of silence." And he would sit and quiet himself and try to listen to what was the most compassionate and skillful and powerful response he could make, coming from that deep center of wisdom. So rather than removing us from the world, it allows us to affect the world in a different and in many cases more profound way.

"There are only two things to do. Sit, and sweep the garden". 

Today I had a wonderful sunrise 7 mile run. I ran with music for the first time in months and months. I played Krishna Das (out loud, as I just can't abide earbuds lately)……(and yes, this got a few strange looks :)). I felt so centered and peaceful as I ran. I ran with an intention and a goal. I ran as meditation. And today, on my run, I found the beginning of the answers that I was seeking. 

Today I overdosed on self care. Manicure, pedicure and waxing with my Mom and daughter (though Jules of course skipped the waxing! :)). I came home, got the kids who were not out on the boat catching our dinner up to the beach, and headed to the Spa at Congress Hall. I was treated to a 30 minute exfoliation treatment, then a 90 minute deep tissue massage. I spent 20 minutes like a limp, delicious puddle in the steam room, and then  headed up to the beach to join the family. They killed it out on the boat, bringing home beautiful flounder filets which we enjoyed for dinner. I passed out on the beach sans spa, where we stayed till 7 PM today! We are on for our SUP class tomorrow, just Nate and I, at 11:30. I'm going to get up and practice at 6 AM on the beach with a friend. I'm going to continue to meditate on the path that I'm looking towards, seeking clarity. Tomorrow night is our big night of rides and dinner out in Wildwood with the kids. Its been an idyllic vacation so far ~ soothing my body, soothing my mind, making wonderful memories with my children and my husband. So much gratitude. So much excitement about the coming fall. 

Sit, and sweep the garden. That is all.