Key Teachings of Buddhism - Living Forward, Understanding Backward

"Mindfulness is basically the ability to strengthen your memory — in this case, your active memory. If you want to do something, you keep reminding yourself to do it. You sense that it’s going to be a good thing, that it will be in your interest, so you don’t forget. Don’t get distracted by other ideas or other intentions. As for alertness, that’s what enables you to pay close attention to what you’re actually doing. So while we’re focused on the breath, we’re developing mindfulness and alertness, and a quality called ardency, which means the desire that, whatever you do, you try to do skillfully. In this case, try to relate to the breath in a skillful way." ~Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Living Forward, Understanding Backward"