Are Changemakers Mindful?

What's Mindful? Mindful is paying attention. Mindful is being present. Mindful is knowing what it is that you are feeling at the same moment that you are feeling it.

What’s Mindless? Mindless is noticing something only after the fact. It's being scattered and/or frazzled without knowing the reasons for it, spacing out, etc.

As a previous researcher at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School on the different forms of mindfulness I have come to understand that their are many different definitions for the word 'mindfulness'. This topic is still debated in different scientific, spiritual and religious communities. I often times ask myself, "Are the people around me being mindful?"

Two months ago I was lucky to participate in my second StartingBloc Institute for Social Innovation in Boston, MA. StartingBloc is an organization that educates, inspires and connects changemakers to drive social innovation across sectors. Throughout the five day institute, there was no mention of mindfulness. The institute never practiced a mindfulness exercise to raise our awareness or attention. However, this is not to suggest that the group of 150 fellows from around the world were lacking in mindfulness. As in other StartingBloc institutes, fellows got together to share stories, ideas and inspiration about how to make the world a better place.

Mindfulness is paying attention. Maria Springer of Kito International is working to help over 100 million street kids worldwide overcome poverty by giving them the opportunities to develop sustainable businesses. She has partnered with Kenyan youth, conducted research, secured seed funding, established a team of advisors and volunteers to take the necessary steps in turning her idea into a reality. Her vision is for all youths to have the opportunity to live free from poverty and achieve their full potential. Maria is paying attention to the poverty taking place 11,564 away in Nairobi, Kenya.

Mindfulness is being present. StartingBloc fellows traveled from around the world, leaving school and work behind to better understand how to be a better changemaker. Matt Kochman of M.E.S.S. Express understands that student’s around the world have a need for reliable access to safe transportation. While at Cornell University, Matt took the time to understand the problem, design a solution and act on it by integrating a transportation system to help his fellow students. His vision is to effectively expand this transportation infrastructure for lesser developed countries. Matt is being present to his local (Ithaca, NY) town and the foreign need for reliable access to safe transportation.

Mindfulness is knowing what it is that you are feeling at the same moment that you are feeling it. Maria and Matt knew something was wrong and felt the need to make a change. Both were mindful of problems the world is currently experiencing. They are not noticing this problem after the fact. Nor are they scattered or spacing out over the solutions to these problems. Maria and Matt are being mindful of the change they want to create and they are creating that change.