Mindfulness in Stressful Times: Car Bombs in Gotham

By Irene Javors, LMHC

New Yorkers have had a very scary and stressful week. On a prematurely summer-like, Saturday night in May, Faisal Shahzad deposited a car bomb in the middle of Times Square. The cliched "Crossroads of the World" became the unwanted arena of another spectacle of attempted urban terrorism. Fortunately, no one was hurt or killed, but an entire city held its collective breath while waiting to see just how serious a threat this smoking car was to the safety of New Yorkers.

How do we learn to live in a city that is a prime target for such attacks? How do we apply mindfulness practices to help us cope with terrorism? Ever since the attack on the World Trade Center, I have been asking myself these questions. My experience tells me that mindfulness is a concept that is closely related to resiliency skills building. Resiliency involves cultivating flexibility, multiple perspectives, humor, and the discipline of staying in the present. All of these skills are crucial to mindful living.

When I heard about the car bomb in Times Square, my immediate response was panic. But I remembered to keep breathing and stay focused on this very second. I listened to the news and asked myself, "What would be the most effective action to take right now?" I figured out that the best thing for me to do was to wait and see and trust that those with a great deal more knowledge and information would do what needed to be done.

After 9/11, I worked as a counselor at Ground Zero. On this past Sunday, I decided that if there was a need for the services of counselors I would volunteer. Most importantly, focusing on what I could do to help served to calm me and empower me with the knowledge that I could "do something."

Mindful resilience enables you to see yourself not as a victim, but as someone who has agency--even if this agency is solely about staying with your breathing in the moment. Feeling a vicitim is what is most disabling and feeds anxiety and fearfulness.

In the face of such danger, New Yorkers came together and pulled through. Gotham is a place of great resiliency and fortitude. Let us stay mindful and grateful for our good fortune this time.