PERSONAL ESSAY

Mindfulness is the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. In today’s day and age this concept is something we are lacking in because of how our societal system is set up. We move so quickly from one task to the next that we often miss what is right in front of us and the potential that it may hold. As a society we often focus on ‘innovation’ and efficiency by fixing our mistakes and piling onto what was there before, i.e. landfills, junk yards, fast construction of garages or nonessential spaces, the ones we overlook. These non-places, or how I like to refer to them as nonessential spaces, are some of the most vital aspects to our society and are those secret places that when cared for can make a large difference. We use these spaces every day, often multiple times a day, and might not even be able to tell you a single detail about what it looks like. These spaces are meant for getting in and getting out, thus missing out on so much opportunity. As Auge states in his book, these places are never fully finished and that’s the missed opportunity space I am referring too. We just get the thing up and working but miss out on the human interaction and humans that will be using the space daily.  

This can often be boiled down to the efficiency (and can’t leave out the cost) aspect taking over all other priorities to a space. How fast can we build this garage with as little amount of manpower, cost, and material? How can we make all of our hotels so that they can be put up as fast as possible to start business? This book and this class both challenged me to think beyond just getting things done but to be mindful and look beyond what is the societal norm for a space. How can we positively affect people’s moods and daily actions by simply paying attention to the things we do daily and the places we leave behind. How can we become more of a community and blur the lines between spots or lanes to think about one another. A proposed solution and one that already works is creating a culture of care. That can look like many different projects or initiatives but ultimately it comes down to caring for one another and being better humans. And being mindful is the first step to how we can get it done.