I’ve been a doer for most of my life.  I think we all have.  We strive for good grades to please our parents.  We do things with friends as part of socializing.  Working requires doing tasks necessary to complete the job.  Even when we are not at our place of business, we still are doing.  We watch tv, surf the web on our cell phones, workout, or pay our bills.  But for all the doing, we forget that we are human beings. 

Society expects us to be busy, doing action-oriented things.  Our culture emphasizes productivity and output.  And through this doing, we feel like we are accomplishing the things we need to live a fulfilled life.  But are we actually feeling satisfied with all our doing?  The doing is supposed to mean we are valuable to society, but our lives have worth because of who we are, not what we do. 

We all have goals, and to obtain them, we have to do things that move us toward the goal, which makes us happy.  There’s nothing inherently wrong with doing unless we are allowing all the busyness to keep us from being.  Being with ourselves can seem scary because it’s not action-oriented.  It also means that we have to face ourselves and those things that all the doing keeps us from seeing. 

Living, there is no happiness in that. Living: carrying one’s painful self through the world. But being, being is happiness. Being: Becoming a fountain, a fountain on which the universe falls like warm rain. ~ Milan Kundera

Doing is What You Do

Doing is the decisions you make and the actions you take.  It’s how you behave and the outcomes those have on your life.  Doing is how we get things completed.  It’s a fundamental component of living life.  We have to eat to nourish our bodies, so we need to go to the grocery store to buy the ingredients to make our meals.  Doing is necessary. 

But we can become trapped in the doing mode.  This entrapment happens when we allow the ego to take over our mindset.  My doing came from two places, first as a way of keeping myself from dealing with childhood trauma, and second as a way to prove to others that I wasn’t lazy. 

Another aspect of doing is the monkey-mind it creates when we’re trying to deal with a situation.  As we attempt to process information, we can get stuck with circular thinking as we dwell on the issue and rehearse possible solutions. 

It also can be seen when, despite what we do, we still feel unsatisfied.  This frustration occurs when we keep checking on our progress but don’t feel we’re making any headway.  But this is all happening in our minds.  The ego is fueling this monkey-mind as its job is to keep us in a state of fear. 

When we’re doing, we fixate on one way of thinking.  We need to become more receptive to the fullness of each moment we are given.  But this can’t happen while we’re in the doing mode. 

At times, productivity means doing nothing at all. ~ Gina Greenlee

Being is Who You Are

Being is beneath all the doing.  The thoughts you have, the beliefs you hold about the world are part of the qualities of being.  It’s the sense that you’re who you’re supposed to be at this moment.  Our badge of honor shouldn’t be our busyness but our ability to be with ourselves and others authentically. 

To be healthy, we need to take the time to be, which allows us to live a joyful and fulfilling life.  Being is about accepting what is without the need to change it.   Being also involves allowing things to arise naturally without evaluating the circumstances.  Our attention is not narrowly focused but entirely open to all the richness of the moment. 

Being only occurs in the now.  It doesn’t happen in the past nor the future.  To be, means we are fully present and aware of what is happening right now.  We’re intimate with the present.  We’re aware of our feelings, but once we feel them, we let them go.  We don’t allow emotions to trigger us. 

When we’re being, we’re free.  What we experience happens in new ways.  Therefore, how we respond to them is unique because we understand the fullness of the moment, even if we are doing something.  Just because you are fully present and aware doesn’t mean that doing has to stop.  You have a choice in any given moment to choose to be in a doing mode of unawareness or a being mode of full consciousness.

Be — don’t try to become.  ~ Osho

Ways of Being

To just be, has two components: awareness and presence.  If you can ensure both aspects, you are being.  Even when you are action-oriented, being can occur as long as you are mindful.  Being gives life its fullness as we have clarity and are opening up to our authentic selves. 

Being is conscious of the still small voice within each of us—our heart.  But to hear the heart, we have to get quiet and put aside the doing.  We cannot be our authentic selves if we don’t listen to what our soul is speaking to us. 

We can listen to our hearts through journaling, prayer, and meditation.  Each of these behaviors gives us opportunities to ask questions, vent our frustrations, and pause to reflect and receive answers. 

In our day to day lives, being seems unachievable.  But it’s about our attitude when we are doing that matters.  If we are task-oriented for outcome purposes only, then we are in the doing mode.  If, however, our mindset is that of awareness and presence, then our actions occur while we’re being.  When we are completely in the here and now while accepting what is and allowing our authentic selves to experience the moment fully, we’re being while doing. 

Only when you explore the ecstasy of simply being, where even to breathe is a distraction, can you call yourself complete. ~ Sadghuru

Growing into Being

We all do, so we start being by looking outward.  I don’t mean striving for the desires of the ego, but by living from a purposeful place.  When we have clarity that our lives have a more significant meaning than just getting ahead, our lives take on a deeper meaning. 

We need to focus on serving others instead of our self.  Through selfishness, the ego brings fear, sadness, and isolation.  By helping others, we open ourselves up to joy, appreciation, and satisfaction.  Through authentic connections with others, happiness is easily achievable.

Admit your limitations.  We can’t do it all. And we aren’t meant to. By admitting your weaknesses, it frees you up to focus on your strengths.  It also allows you to reach out to others for assistance and encouraging them with their talents.   

Let go of attachments.  Release the parts of the past that we cling to like shame, blame, guilt, regret, and excuses.  Allow the people in our lives who no longer belong to leave.  Let go of all the things that no longer serve you like outdated beliefs and old patterns of behavior. 

Accept what is.  Resistance to change causes anxiety and anger, which are aspects of fear.  Acceptance allows peace and clarity to flow into your life and brings you back to being. 

Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am. ~ Parker J. Palmer

Everyday Being

Here are some practical ways to help you be your authentic self while you are doing the things you need to accomplish to live your life. 

Choose how you feel, because you decide what emotion to experience in the present moment.  Choose to feel love or happiness.  You don’t have to suffer.  Misery is a choice, so is contentment.  You can select to experience a different feeling. 

Focus on your strengths because your authentic self doesn’t struggle.  It magically flows with the universal current because your strengths and talents arise naturally from within you.  By being, you allow then to blossom into the fullness of their beauty. 

Live open-heartedly, so that you notice the nuances of life around you.  Living from the heart opens you up to experience the world from a center of love.  It automatically sees connections, joy, and understanding.  It opens us to give and receive forgiveness.  Heart living increases the experiences we live. 

Have your actions be inspired.  When your doing is inspired, it’s “in-spirit” or from the heart.  This type of doing originates from the synchronistic feelings that seem to arise as you begin to trust yourself. 

The Universe contains three things that cannot be destroyed; Being, Awareness, and love.  ~ Deepak Chopra

Moving Forward

Become aware of your underlying motives for all the doings of your life.  Doing is the actions we take.  Being is your authentic self.  Mindfulness allows you to stop doing and move towards being.  Awareness and presence are the two components necessary for being.  By looking outward and serving others, we open ourselves up to a larger purpose for our lives.  Living from the heart allows us to be while we are doing.  We now take inspired action so that we stay in the flow of life.

I love because my love is not dependent on the object of love. My love is dependent on my state of being. So whether the other person changes, becomes different, friend turns into a foe, does not matter, because my love was never dependent on the other person. My love is my state of being. I simply love.  ~ Osho

As you become more conscious of how much you do instead of being, you can learn to grow into being.  If you would like to receive more informative and mindful articles right into your mailbox, fill this out. 

Do you need support to help you transition from doing to being?  Do you want a strategy to help you overcome the ego’s limiting beliefs and live a successful life? If so, please, contact me, and we can put together an action plan for you to create the life you desire.

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Summary

Article Name

It's Not About Doing, It's About Being

Description

Life isn't about all the doing. Life is about being. We will look at ways of presence, how to grow into being, as well as in everyday life circumstances.

Author

Terri Kozlowski

Publisher Name

Kozmic Soul Solutions LLC

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