By Melissa Reese / Guidely
I see this quote a lot on social media, “We are human beings, not human doings.” However, my curiosity lies in how many people 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 different than it does now. Learning how to be is critical to one’s self-discovery journey.
Beginning Your Self-Discovery Journey
One recent morning, I went outside and saw a bug on the sidewall of our patio. On 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; all day and into the night. It caused me to think about how there are very few humans, myself included, that could ever accomplish this—yes, it is 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 how they shouldn’t be laying around. I worked to shift this in a major way for myself. For two months, my “pursuit” had been about truly learning how to just be; I was attempting to hone my beingness.
Allowing Yourself to Be
I know that “being” is multiple times harder than “doing” for the majority of people because most people would rather do than just be. We have created a society in which we have to be doing nearly all the time, leaving 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 do not want to deal with their problems. It’s hard for most people to just be.
The reason we have a “monkey mind,” as people call it, is because of our “doing” society, which makes “being” 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 are because they are actually human doings and not human beings?
What Being Means
We are all so used to doing something at all times that we really don’t understand what it means to be.
To be is to experience “non-attachment” to the moment, to your mind, and to whatever you are engaged in. You could say it is “getting lost in the moment” for many extended moments. Being is about being who you are at your very core. It is about being aligned with your soul, your essence, your genius. This is the real you, this is the Truth—no façade, no pretension, no acting, no pretending, no holding back, no shapeshifting, no editing, no censorship.
We can experience being 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.
To Be in Your Self-Discovery Journey
Being, or 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 the things that help with honing both. It grants you insight into your depth and intricacy while providing you 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.”
Being looks like meditation, mindful breathwork, 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; anything in which you are in your essence, genius, and soul-nourishing “expression.”
How to Simply Be
Some of the things on that list look or sound a lot like doing, but if it is 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. This affects your ability to be and embrace your self-discovery journey.
To be is to be quiet in your mind; fully present, undistracted, content, fulfilled, fully connected to your self, unattached to everything except yourself and LOVE. 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, however, but rather the activity you do express is a direct reflection of your beingness.
Begin Your Self-Discovery Journey
Hone your being by meditating and connecting with your soul; by LOVING every aspect of you and excuse the aspects that do not seem to serve your highest good. Do so by spending lots of time in and with nature, by experiencing deep appreciation and gratitude, by living from your soul, and spending your precious time with yourself in quietude, just being. Be the expression of your soul; to relieve stress, to relieve illness, and to enjoy life.
Be still, silent in your mind, connect fully 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 only the experience itself at that moment. This is critical to your self-discovery journey.
