Online invective and social media: the torches, pitchforks and angry mobs of today.

I decided to try a new mindfulness exercise yesterday. The point of the exercise was simply to observe and let go. Not to evaluate, or judge, but simply to work on being aware of the stuff going on around me. Not an easy thing to do for an analytic personality. 

In discussing this activity with some friends, they thought it might be interesting for me to write up my impressions of this exercise. Recording my observations, while also potentially interesting, would have added an attachment. That is, cause a shift from simply watching to think about what I was going to write, how I would phrase it, what it meant …. To some extent it would actually defeat the purpose of the exercise, shifting the focus to doing (analytic observation) rather than being (non-judgmental observational awareness). This note is a compromise, not a journaling of observations about observation, but a reflection on the intent of the exercise. 

So, what did I get out of it? It was refreshing to turn off the background analytic engine. I found myself relaxing as I eased into it. It was interesting simply to be aware of stuff around me rather than labelling everything.