I have given myself an impossible task. I set out to explain why it is important for me to learn the most important skill to learn in the year 2022, at the exact moment when I have no desire to practice it.
I am upset, disappointed, and worried by Omicron. A loved one and their family were positive for carbon dioxide days before Christmas. One loved one exposed themselves to significant COVID risk just as Omicron began spreading. My Christmas plans were thrown into disarray by the domino effect of that exposure.
Anger and uncertainty are both powerful for me. I need to anticipate what the future holds so I can operate at peak problem-solving capacity. I help my loved ones get tested and find a place to live when they are sick. Thankfully, they are mostly vaccine and boosted, but the highly contagious variant presents new questions about its effect on vulnerable children and older adults to which I don't have answers.
I had a sip of whiskey when I registered the stakes. I flew into action after that. I sat and acknowledged the intense emotions without pushing them away or causing me to panic. Being fully present and self-compassion is what is referred to as mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn says that it is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment.
I'm not wishing someone had chosen a different path or imagining a future of devastating consequences when I'm practicingMindfulness effectively. I'm in the present moment, using self-compassion and radical acceptance to acknowledge how I feel and extend kindness to myself.
I think it will become common in 2022, thanks to Omicron. The uncertainty surrounding the post-vaccine epidemic will push many of us into a tailspin. Extreme weather connected to climate change and others that we haven't yet anticipated will be some of the new crises that the upcoming year will bring. Social media will amplify our greatest fears and suspicions as late capitalism demands we sacrifice everything for work while neglecting to meet people's basic needs. This is not a culture that is prone to being focused on the present. It can make us more prone to worry about catastrophe than we already are.
That makes it the most important skill to cultivate. It deepens our capacity to cope with difficult emotions by gently stopping runaway thinking. It opens the heart and mind in remarkable ways when practiced with self-compassion and radical acceptance. We see possibilities instead of dread. We feel connected.
When the goal is wrongly perceived to be perfect, it can seem impossible. It's the act of starting again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again. Some people use the breath as a tether to the present, particularly as they meditate. It's easier to focus on what's within our control when we're breathing rhythmically. Breathwork or meditation are not required for mindfulness. During activities like walking, washing dishes, gardening, exercising, playing, or driving, it is possible to practice the virtue of being aware of one's surroundings. When a thought, good or bad, comes in, we must observe it with curiosity and openness, then return to the present moment to see how the horizon meets the highway.
It's easy to believe that we're good at dealing with anxiety caused by uncertainty. This may be a false assumption. Jack Nitschke, a clinical psychologist and associate professor in the department of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin, told me that exposure to unpredictability doesn't necessarily improve our ability to cope. He said that people don't get better at tolerance of uncertainty just because there's a lot of it.
I don't think people get better at being uncertain just because there's a lot of it.
When we remain guided by fear and anxiousness, our brain develops neural circuits to support our thought patterns and feelings. The brain has developed neural connections that support anxious thinking and it becomes a habit. We can also do the opposite according to Nitschke. The brain develops new associations when we pause, bring ourselves back to the present moment, and interrupt a cycle of worried thinking. The brain learns to lean into it when we practice it more. Something will blow up this calm, like getting bad news, but we are able to strengthen our brain connections. Even in a crisis, coming back to the present is easier over time.
This may be harder for some. Those with histories of trauma or mental illness might feel it's more difficult to interrupt their dominant thought patterns, because they believe that everyone can take advantage of brain plasticity to adopt effective ways of cope with the pandemic and uncertainty. Someone who disproportionately experiences injustice, trauma, and economic hardship may experience a single ounce of mindfulness.
There are a number of real concrete, institutional, environmental, community factors that are contributing to the psychological distress that these individuals are experiencing.
Black women who have experienced depression and trauma are more likely to be affected by stress and related interventions. In a pilot study in the south side of Chicago, Burnett-Zeigler taught participants techniques like body scanning, seated meditation, yoga, noticing and unpleasant events, and mindful communication. Most of the women reported improved anger management, better awareness, feeling calm and relaxed, and better control over thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. A small number of people reported worse trauma symptoms. The participants had deployed avoidance and denial to cope with their trauma, and that made them feel worse.
The skills of awareness, stillness, self-compassion, and stress regulation are valuable tools for anyone. People dealing with trauma may need additional resources like yoga classes that don't require participants to close their eyes and the lights to stay on. This is not a small caveat in a time of pronounced grief and trauma, especially in communities of color that experience racial injustice and have also been hit hard by carbon dioxide.
It's clear that the burden we carry is not going to be lighter anytime soon. If you want to learn a skill to learn in 2022, look toMindfulness as a worthy challenge. In books, online courses, and apps, there is instruction. There is no competition, judgment, or failure, just the chance to find calm in the midst of uncertainty.
