The (Un)Mindful Autoethnographer

Through exploring theory and practice of mindfulness as a personal and social practice, the author demonstrates possibilities of being aware of liminal spaces between self and others while in crisis. The author’s (un)mindful experiences while caring for her mother, who was in acute physical pain, gesture to how mindfulness practices are poignantly personal and sweetly subtle as well as socially wild, elusive, and energetic. Unfolding in three parts, this article interweaves mindfulness theory, autoethnographic vignettes of being (un)mindful, and (in)conclusive thoughts on the ability to remain mindful in the messiness to time, memory, and crisis. The article concludes by surmising that being in this life together provides ample opportunities to care for one another during times of joy as well as crisis. In an afterword, the author reflects on mindful moments of the first days of a citywide state of emergency in the 2020 pandemic.