Being and Doing
In our busy culture we place so much value on the constant act of doing, doing, doing. Many of us attach our worth to how productive we are in any given day. This pace leaves us drained and exhausted with nothing more to give. We cannot sustain this pace.
In recovery circles there is a slogan that says,
“You are a human being, not a human doing.”
I love this so much. Sometimes I feel like the work of my life is to learn to slow down. I’ve noticed that for a lot of people they use busyness to distract themselves from having to face the difficult emotions that come up in stillness. Unfortunately, we cannot dodge our feelings. If we keep running and running, eventually these feelings will catch up to us.
Have you ever felt secretly or not so secretly relieved to be sick? Relieved because now you have a full-fledged excuse to do nothing. I have heard this so many times before. I have felt this. I often think our body is trying to talk to us and is saying,
“Hey, you. You really need to take it easy.”
Our body knows. Our body is wise. Yet it is so easy to fight against this wisdom.
Finding the balance between being and doing is a way of walking what the Buddhist’s call the middle path. The middle path gets us out of black and white thinking, this or that, extremes, and brings into the both/ands.
It is crucial that we both have times when we are doing and times when we are being. If you find that you are not giving yourself enough time to simply be, consider putting an appointment in your calendar to simply be. Maybe during that time, you will meditate, or simply notice in that moment what you are feeling, maybe you will journal, or read a book. The point is to be intentional and to protect that time like you would any other important meeting.
As odd as this sounds, I have found that when we go slower, we get there faster. There is an intentionality, a mindfulness that happens when we go slower. We become more focused, more present. The quality of our work improves. We feel better.
If it sounds unrealistic to start creating space for slowing down, try setting your timer for one minute a day where you simply pause and observe inside of you and around you. It is through tiny micro-shifts that we make massive changes.
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