"It sounds like you are finally understanding the difference between a human being and a human doing.”
Someone said this to me recently. They did not say it maliciously. Actually, come to think of it, though very frank, it was said as an act of kindness. This person was proud of me.
It is so funny how we get so caught up in how busy we are, how much we can pile on our little plates and how "productive" we want to be, and it's gotten to a point that we are not actually that productive, or productive as we think we are--or we never slow down to see how much time we actually have. And then when we actually do slow down, we do not know what we should do because we rarely allow ourselves to just be.
But what good is that really? We have to-do lists that have "write a to-do list" on them. How ridiculous is that?! Who are we trying to impress? At what point will we slow down and enjoy who we are, who is around us and the beauty of life? At what point are we going to cool it with our color--coded Lilly planners that rule our lives, or our GoogleCalendars that rule our lives one new appointment at a time? We are no longer human beings. We are human doings.
I am learning that people do not know how to be. They do not know what being still feels like anymore. To many people, being still is uncomfortable. Being in the quiet and the stillness is uncomfortable because we need noise, we need music, we need a little white screen staring back at us to feel useful. To me, though, being still has become comfortable. It has become necessary.
This comes in so many forms. It could be taking time to go for a walk, taking time for a hike, taking time to sit and meditate. Resting is important and there is not enough emphasis put on it in our society. For me, its a nice cup of coffee on a Saturday morning with a blanket and a book (and sometimes cartoons--judge me). Regardless of where you find rest and time to slow down, the time has come.
So I encourage you to stop being a human doing and let us all start being human beings again. Carve out time this week to just be. Be where you are natural. Be where you are you. Find rest. Seek time that is quiet. Just be.
