Beautifully written, and profound.

Pondering 'toxic posivity' though...is it really the case that the positivity itself is the problem, or just the abuse thereof?

I think about that 'brief but meaningless' high you experienced - and which many people experience, both from spirituality and from other forms of addiction (cigarettes, in my case, which took years to overcome). Nicotine, lead, some other things are always toxic: every dose is harmful, but some are so small we don't detect it, and are willing to tolerate the harm in exchange for a brief high. Mindfulness is a useful means of overcoming that (or has been for me).

But something like "The Secret" has its place too - it's not wrong to visualize a self as happy, sexy, or free of addiction - to envision that life, and fantasize. It's just wrong to stop with that, without making other changes. An addict can probably imagine a life free of addiction, but must make decisions in the present moment to free himself of that addiction.

Seen that way, I understand your irritation with "awaken_one" and the other empty motivation quotes as "these people commercialize a process - peddling spirituality as if it were cosmetics - that fuels addiction, not growth."

Hence, mindfulness may be the process of overcoming an addiction to toxic positivity, not an antidote, right? If I've misunderstood, please correct. If not, may your writing continue scintillating.