Like me, other ambitious, unconventional, risk-taking, “busy” people often wake up in the morning, and tend to what, if any spiritual rituals we do in giving thanks for the breath we took, the food we’re about to eat—and from there: it’s onnnnnnnn to DOING.
For me (from there) it’s:
- Down on the floor to do some sit-ups
- Looking out into the sun at my window sill-watching busy life and cars go by, and people pulling up to the grocery store while I count reps of push ups on the ledge standing on my tippy-toes (watching life and them)
- Then it’s over to another (lower) window sill to do reps of leg lifts while I watch the birds + 1 red robin hang about this tree and fencing along the house in from of me.
After there, it’s onnnnnnn to the “doings” IN AN EFFORT TO “BECOME.”
Well, I came across an article that kind of relates to what I often think about throughout the course of a day [where it pertains to quality of life]: Being v. Doing.
And while I do admit, I do more “doing” than “being”-part of it (as my excuse) is that I don’t feel like I have earned the right or privilege of “being”-until I am satisfied with where I am with what I’ve done (as a result of my “doings”).
Well, turns out, I don’t have to feel as bad (according to this blog I came across).
Because the little things that I do love in the midst of my days like: (making a mess of themselves) watching fat kids eat while out with parents, kids having tantrums (in an effort to prove their little independence), people interact (and react), being the third-party person watching people, watch people, interacting with people via inviting “hello’s”, my candid conversations with strangers while standing in line or at the library-or even my time at the gym or on the track, how far that caterpillar made it from the last point I saw him at on the track. When I’m out jogging alone, or even when I’m out to eat and the movies with a friend or alone-mean something: That I am actually “being” rather than “doing” something (as a means to an end/goal).
If you’re anything like me in thought and mind (with regard to your thinking about doing v. being), check out this article that I found quite interesting-and something by which maybe you too, can gauge whether you are doing, or being (too much or too little).
Before you continue, you know what I discovered? While I lay in my bed a few minutes before raising, that songbird that I always hearing that sings a litttttttttle different, sweeter, and louder than all the rest is that red robin. I watched it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears while at the window sill. That made me happy to know 🙂
Here’s Richard’s story:
I wrote in my blog, How to hack into the happiness, that we need to take the focus off doing, and start being. While it’s important to maintain a to-do list, it’s even more important to remember to be.
Imagine a life without stopping to smell the roses, listening to a child laugh, singing in the shower, or turning your head to the sky on a crisp summer night to gaze at the stars. Imagine never spending time with your family or friends, never relishing in their achievements, never sympathising with their pain. Life would be pointless, and happiness hard to truly comprehend.
To spread the word, I published my blog to Facebook with the question What if being came first, and doing came second? While I loved reading the many comments about how people have hacked into happiness, I was particularly inspired by Colin Sprake, who said: “That’s who we are Human Beings NOT Human Doings”
Colin is absolutely right. We are human beings because we think, move and communicate in a heightened way. We have the ability to be in the moment, to cooperate, understand, appreciate, reconcile and love – and that’s what sets us apart from most of other species.
We are human beings not human doings – let’s start acting like it, by taking the time simply to be and appreciate the fruits of life. Remember to be as well as to do, and if that proves hard, add it as a bullet point to your next to-do list (cont’d)
