When we turn the light inward and become a lamp unto ourself, we find our true power, our agency. In our delusion, we often give this power away.

Peter Doobinin, co-founder of New York Insight Meditation Center, wrote that “Mindfulness, according to what the Buddha taught, is a practice of conscious decision making — it’s a practice of making choices, beginning with the decision to put our mind on the breath, which leads to true happiness.”

What type of wisdom and power unfolds when we make the decision to practice? How does agency differ from willfulness? How do we take responsibility for our actions, for our life?