To begin, for the past two weeks I have been learning a lot about mindfulness and how it affects sustainability. I always knew that our minds play a key role in our actions, but in these past two weeks I was able to separate my thoughts and actions; honing on each one individually and how they impact each other. Focusing on the mind I learned that it is complicated to organize. I tried to practice mindfulness for at least 5-10 minutes to explore deep into my thoughts. While doing so I was able to bring all information that I pushed into the back of my mind forward. This defiantly created discomfort because I released that there was some clutter than needed to be organized. A day to day practice I do to alleviate stress is to plan daily goals. I try to not plan too much or else I would become overwhelmed. That said, when I took the time to look at my thoughts, nothing but responsibilities stormed around my head. However, I found it peaceful after a while because I began focusing on my breathing, and mentally separating and planning my thoughts ideally to achieve the things that needed to be fulfilled. Soon after my 5-10 mins of mindfulness, I went into the next step which was action. I reasoned my thoughts, so it was easy to execute my desired needs without feeling lost or overwhelmed. After practicing mindfulness, I defiantly believe that it is helpful, peaceful, and necessary to do to be at peace mentally.

Moving on to my in-class discussion groups I defiantly used my experience with mindfulness to answer and elaborate on questions. The questions discussed was over sustainability, and whether globalization has a chance of being a tool for economic growth. This question stemmed from two articles that elaborated on both a yes and no side. I, being on the no side, concluded that its globalization couldn’t help the world’s sustainability. I listened to my team’s arguments, and we all concluded that the only way sustainability can happen is if work was done internally before externally. Meaning that values, attitudes, beliefs, would need to be reprogrammed for the economy to be on one accord; practicing healthy environmental activities. Adding was the concept I brought to the table which was that fear is a possible solution to a quick change in the minds of many; valuing nature. I fathomed this based on my 5-10 minutes of mindfulness. Through my mindfulness practice, fear defiantly occurred because I had many goals that I wanted to accomplish, and I didn’t know where to start. However, I quickly reorganized and began to execute. Relating that to the economy and sustainability, if people were to push issues to the forefront of their minds as I did, they would want to fix these horrific issues. However, the only way that its possible is if something triggers it (for me it was the assignment/ deadline).

In conclusion, my takeaway from these pasts to weeks is that the mind is a complex piece that can be altered, programmed, and shaped to fit desired needs or social values. Understanding this, it brings up a concept I didn’t get to share which was programming. Everybody on this earth is programmed in some form to an extent. Knowing that what are ways that I can reprogram myself to see the truth, and value what’s important? This is a concept that I am going to explore in honor of my wellbeing.