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My husband and I spend a lot of time in Canadian Rocky Mountains. He’s an amateur wildlife photographer (you’ve seen some of his photos on Mindful15.com). People who see his pics often ask “How do you see so much wildlife? I go to Jasper all the time and I never see anything.” His response: “You’re driving too fast.” It takes a long time, and a lot of bad photos, to get one good bear picture. To catch something wonderful and rare, you have to slow down and look carefully.

We often witness tourists doing the opposite, even when the attraction isn’t something elusive like a bear. They’ll race up to an attraction, a beautiful mountain view for example, jump out of their car, take a selfie, get back in the car and race away. We wonder if they even could describe the view, because they didn’t really spend any time looking at it.

What about you? Do you savour and fully experience the positive moments, or do you jump right back in your car and chase after the next beautiful thing?

 

Peaceful Moment of the Week: Black Bear, Columbia Icefields Parkway, AlbertaThis photo is under copyright and used with permission

 

Today’s podcast is the last in the Non-Judgement Series. In the past two episodes, we’ve explored how acceptance of negative events and emotions helps you let go of habitual reactions that cause suffering so you can move on to take positive action. But, positive events and emotions can also lead to unhelpful and even harmful habitual reactions. There’s a lot to be learned about your mind by applying mindfulness to the positive.

If you missed them, you’ll find episode 1 in the Non-Judgement Series at mindful15.com/letgo. It’s describes what it means to accept the present moment, and talks about the benefits of accepting negative situations. Episode 2 in the series is at mindful15.com/negative. It’s about the importance of accepting the big negatives we’re all facing right now: climate change, human rights abuses, and more, because acceptance is the first step in making change for the better.

Now, on to the positive. Humans, all creatures really, are built to avoid the negative and chase after the positive. It’s an evolutionary bias that helps keep us safe and healthy. But have you ever anticipated a good thing coming your way, maybe a promotion, a new house, or a budding romantic relationship, only to become anxious that something would come along and ruin it? Have you ever been in the midst of a happy situation and felt helpless, because you knew it would end soon?

When you get something you’ve been craving, how long do the good feelings last? If you finally get that new car you were excited about, for example, how quickly does the joy wear off, leaving you planning which car to buy next?

Because we’re primed to keep chasing after positive things, we often don’t savour them when the arrive. We want them, sometimes desperately, but then we don’t get full enjoyment out of them when we have them. We pay little attention, because our minds are moving forward, looking for more, or worrying about how to keep what we have.

To explore how you react to the positive, put your attention on your reactions just as I’ve been coaching you to put your attention on your reactions to negative events and emotions. Today’s meditation walks you through the process.

Accepting the positive for what it is allows you to savour it while letting go of negative...