You are a being, not a doing.
I see this quote a lot on social media, “We are human beings, not human doings.” My curiosity lies in how many people actually truly comprehend the depth and enormity of these words. If these words were internalized and actualized by each one of us, this world would look and feel very differently than it does now.
I went outside one recent morning to see a bug just chillin’ on the side wall of our patio. This particular day I went outside more than normal, each time, sometimes hours later, the bug was still there in its same spot in its same pose, just chillin’—all day into the night (it was very much alive). I thought about how there are very few humans that could ever accomplish this, me included. Yes, it’s an accomplishment. People have a very difficult time just being. Even when most are “relaxing” they are still either contemplating what to do next, what they should be doing, what they “really” have to be doing, ruminating over something, or thinking/feeling that they shouldn’t just be sitting or laying around. I know, I used to be a pro at it, but I worked to shift this in a major way, and find myself still doing it from time to time. But, for the last 2 months my “pursuit” is about truly learning how to just be, to hone my beingness. I know that being is multiple times harder than doing, for the majority of people. Most people would rather do than just be.
We have created a society in which we have to be doing nearly all the time and we leave little to no time for just being. People have jobs, social media, bills, kids, sports, illnesses, and stress to tend to. It would seem as though there are more problems than solutions and people don’t want to just be with their problems. It’s hard for most people to just be. The reason we have “monkey mind,” as people call it, is because of our “doing” society, this makes being even more difficult for many.
Life is often referred to as a “rat race,” and also said to be: busy, crazy, not enough time in a day, unfulfilling, monotonous, unfair, frustrating, scary, and even soulless; to name only some of the things I’ve heard. But what if I told you that all of these negative, draining, and infuriating things that people feel and think about life is because they are actually human doings and not human beings?
We are all so used to doing something that we really don’t understand what it means to be. To be is to experience “unattachment” to the moment, to your mind, and to whatever you are engaged in. You could say it’s “getting lost in the moment” for many extended moments. Being is about being who you are at your very core. It’s about being aligned with your soul, your essence, your genius. This is the real you, this is the Truth—no facade, no pretension, no acting, no pretending, no holding back, no shapeshifting, no editing, no censorship. We can experience this in other things that could be categorized as “doing,” as I will mention in a list below, but when they are your Truth, your essence, your soul, it is your own unique way of just being.
Just being requires you to be with your self. It requires you to be with your problems, your ideas, your thoughts, your beliefs, your genius, your uniqueness, your gifts/talents, your interests, and every other aspect that comprises who you are as a person. Being requires presence, free from distraction.
Being, or even being present in the moment, can be a very difficult feat. Honing your being is all about honing both who you are, as in how you see yourself and know yourself to be, as well as being able to be with your being in a calm, joyful, content, present, relaxed, unoccupied, LOVING manner. Meditation is one of those things that helps with honing both. It both grants you insight to your depth and intricacy as well as providing you the space and opportunity to start to really appreciate your company and the company of LOVE, the Divine Connectedness (some say God, Universe, Spirit, etc.). Meditating could be categorized as “doing” something, but while it does require your energetic attention, it does not require your mind to be engaged, in fact that’s exactly what it’s trying to disengage so that it can simply float in the space of the “ether.”
Here’s that list I promised you. Being looks like: Meditation, mindful breath work, walking in nature, playing a musical instrument, painting, coloring, drawing, singing, writing, dancing, sitting and doing “nothing,” laying on the grass, staring at the moon and the stars, gardening, cooking/baking, and anything in which you are in your essence, genius, and soul-nourishing “expression.”
Some of the things on that list look or sound a lot like doing, other than meditating and the sitting and just being items, but if it’s who you are to your very core, then that is you, just being. The moment you do your soul work, your essence, your beingness for someone else, feel like you have to focus or harness it to please someone else, do it more than you truly feel called to, and/or have any “have to,” “should,” or “must” attached to it, it becomes doing and not just being. To be is to be quiet in your mind, fully present, undistracted, content, fulfilled, unattached to everything except yourself and LOVE, and fully connected to your self. This means no TV, no social media, no listening to most music, no reading most books, no drinking, no drugs, modest to no socializing, and fully connected with your soul. It does not necessarily mean you are inactive, it means that the activity you do express is a direct reflection of your beingness.
Hone your being by meditating and connecting with your soul. Hone your being by LOVING every aspect of you and excuse the aspects that do not seem to serve your highest good. Hone your being by spending lots of time in and with and with nature. Hone your being by experiencing deep appreciation and gratitude. Hone your being by living from your soul and spending your precious time with yourself in quietude, just being. Be the expression of your soul. Be to relieve stress. Be to relieve illness. Be to enjoy life.
Be still, silent in your mind, fully connected to your energy and the energy of LOVE. Be genuinely and openly curious, happy, peaceful, grateful, fulfilled, and content. Align yourself with your soul’s essence, your genius, your gifts/talents, and your Truth. In being there is no production, there is no intention of measurable outcome, there is just the experience itself in that moment.
By Melissa Reese
The Pursuit Guru
Melissa Reese 