Later on in life I had some hard times, and I graduated from school with extreme effort. I even managed to continue my education because of “my own effort." I always thought I made it on my own and attributed my successes until them to my own, no one else but me.
Social mindfulness is very important. This chapter has given me further understanding about how important other people around us are. We do not do things on our own. We are embedded in a community. Whether people are on our side or not, they still in one way or another help us to be who we are, their actions have consequences in our lives. Just like the reading says, doctors were babies one day (60-61).
Every action, every mood, everything we do is interconnected. Social Mindfulness allows us to know that we are not self-sufficient, that we are not the product of our own creation. From the beginning of life, we are babies and need someone to care for us. That pattern continues through the rest of our life whether we realize it or not.
Our society lacks social mindfulness to the point that it became the law of the jungle. Talents and skills are seen only in the light of personal strength and individuality rather than in the light of a society where we are all connected in one way, or another, and every action has a consequence beyond ourselves. The example given by the author about his mood changing because of the events that happen in a single run is great to describe how we are all connected (57).
It is essential to have social mindfulness and acknowledge it if we want to make a difference in our world. Only if we are aware of the extent of our actions, our moods, our reactions and responses, we can make a difference, and make the world a better place to live in.
Cited Work
Schawlbe, Michael. The sociologically Examined Life. 2007. Print
