We did not survive in nature by ignoring incoming stimuli, and like birds or chipmunks are more accustomed to glancing around constantly, attentive to both threat and opportunity. But we are no longer crouching in a hostile, natural environment and the states to which our mind restlessly turns…are generally internally constructed threats and imaginary opportunities.

The cultivation of mental focus, the consistent return to a primary object, and the settling into ever greater states of tranquility has the effect of gradually reigning in the mind’s random wandering and settles it down in a way that gathers and consolidates the power of awareness. Awareness is the primary currency of the human condition, and as such it is inherently of immense value and deserves to be spent carefully. Merely sitting in a serene environment, letting go of the various petty disturbances that roil and diminish consciousness and experiencing as fully as possible the poignancy of the fleeting moment – this is an enterprise of deep intrinsic value, and aesthetic experience beyond words.

Andrew Olendzki, Unlimiting Mind