One of the classic definitions of mindfulness is that it helps us not cling to what's pleasant and not condemn what is unpleasant. An example would be if you're driving in New York City and someone cuts you off; that's unpleasant and one would instinctively have an angry response. But that's happening all the time and if you have an angry response too often, then you become a nightmare yourself. So what mindfulness is teaching is that the stimulus, which is someone cutting you off, is different; it's distinct from your emotional reaction to that thing. So someone could cut you off; you could feel the anger, but you don't have to act on the anger. So instead of being driven by your reactions, there's a little bit of room where you can choose to be a different kind of person. So mindfulness basically helps us tolerate the aspects of the external world and the internal world that otherwise are hard to face.
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