Promises of mindfulness

All that mindfulness promise is "cruel optimism", as cultural theorist Lauren Berlant shows. We are told that if we practise mindfulness and get our individual lives in order, we can be happy and secure. We are promised that stable employment and success will naturally follow. It is implied that we can gain self-mastery and thrive. Yet it is cruel to be promised to have it all if we can sit in silence, watch our breath, and wait.

Because we neglect shared vulnerabilities and interdependence, we fail to imagine collective ways we might protect ourselves.