Today’s article can kind of be categorised into one where the themes of doing and being shine rather prominently. I’m just gonna let it all out so. I’m prepared for a good cathartic torrent! No images today. Alright, let’s go.
First of all a quick word about the categories of doing and being. So this is the way I see it. Basically, doing is something for which you have goals or ambition towards. It means something to you and you have a desire to achieve a greater mastery of the discipline. In contrast, being! is totally different. See, for being, just the mere immersion in the activity itself alone is already sufficient.
A shortcut helpful way to think of it might be the idea of creator vs consumer. See, if you are a creator, you actively produce. But as a consumer, you only passively enjoy! the created works of others. Honestly speaking, it’s really important to find a balance between them. After all, there’s only so much we can invest our efforts into and create works out of! There are only so many capacities that we can draw on…
And yet, when we consume the work of someone who is so insanely gifted!! in said discipline, it can truly be bliss, and we totally truly recognise that we could not have done it ourselves. Rather! We concentrate on our own domains, own disciplines, own works, serving society at large in the area, whilst getting recharged!! by consuming said works produced by creators of those fields that we resonate with.
A prevalent lifestyle would be people who merely work for survival alone, and having ensured the framework of their continued existence, thus engage in being activities to enjoy their remaining free time. Truly, they might not actually even have these aspirations in their doing activities as it’s merely about paying back their debts and getting the food on the table!
However, it may really appear that these people have achieved a harmonious balance between their doing and being states.
Now, what comes to mind are two groups of people who have not achieved that fine balance.
Group 1 consists of people with high ambition and drive. They actively!! discount some particular activities from their lives that they used to really enjoy in their youth for the sheer fact that they saddle themselves with responsibility. And thus they are just always so diligently moving on from one task to the next. Regarding a restorative!! energetic being activity? Nah, not really. At most they slot in a time for it and do it, but beyond that, they just psychologically cannot!!! bring themselves to really luxuriate in that.
Group 2 consists of people whose energy are mainly concentrated upon their jobs. See, the thing is that this people really know how to give, yet are much more lacking in comparison when it comes to receiving. They perhaps will only have a total paradigm shift when it comes to their old age and retirement, and man, what a total transformative implosion of their old states of being it will be then! At most, what these people do is simply splurge on themselves a small bit sometimes. As for remaining free time, all they do is just mindlessly watch television dramas. An apologetically apt way of describing it – they don’t know how to give back to themselves. For them it’s all about living to the end of their lifetimes.
Now, I hope I wasn’t too clumsy in describing these two kinds of people. Here, rather than trying to refer to any particular person in general, I was really trying to give more of a broad category of them! And thereafter, comes the meat of the article so to speak.
Basically, I believe that the ideal, most enlightened way of seeing things would be as follows:
- Decide and lock in your doing activities that really resonate with you. You just! have aspirations for them welling up within.
2. Block in your doing activities into your day. This can totally just be your work hours like 8-5 or whatever for those with office jobs really.
3. Meanwhile, outside of these doing activities, know that you have! totally done enough! You’ve given! good!! And now then it is time 100%!! to totally bring joy to yourself in experiencing the time left in the day.
4. Recall those being activities that really fill you. Many a times, they exist in your past memories but you gave them up because you kinda sacrificed!! literally!!! them for the sake of yet other responsibilities. Think about it. Do you truly not have the time to do them? Or are you instead blocking truthful abject do-nothings in those timeslots instead.
And that’s how it is!!!
Now perhaps this will be a shorter article than usual. I just want to share how the main topic in this article really truly resonates with me. I mean, I would not have written it otherwise, but still! I think it calls for some backstory yo.
Here goes.
So basically in the past, I would only ever read fiction and do nothing else. This was all the way till I was what, 20? But as I grew older and started doing more things, giving myself ‘doing’ goals to aspire towards kinda, it was like a dam had been built and totally walled it off. Really!
Anyway, basically there was a point just months or even weeks ago where I would go days on end without reading fiction even though technically I’m following a couple with daily updates. Then stuff happened, with mindset shifts and all and I would slot in two slots for reading fiction, right before bed and right after lunch. That was even though technically, there was so much other time I could spend on it!
Finally, the deciding shift was when I realised. I actually wasn’t letting myself read due to beliefs in my unconscious mind!!! Idk, maybe I thought that I had grown past a stage in life where I did so, for enjoyment. Now I had evolved to a point where it had become a mere trinket, or pleasant activity to spend a little time on everyday for keepsake purposes!
On some weekends I would really go all out and binge read and then feel really really blessed and grateful that I was able to do it.
Though in fact I really could!! and it was just me stopping myself…
Anyway, the present state of affairs is that I can totally read a bit in the morning after I wake up, a bit after lunch, a bit after dinner, a bit before bed bla bla bla. Of course, the Condition!!! for this is that I have already settled some doing activities and thus I know that I have been productive and that I’m not doing nothing. Rather, I’m engaging myself to the fullest in both doing and being! Rather than just being!
Man, it was even to the point where I started playing little tiny games again. Not ones that really need me to exert myself crazily, of course. Those are more for having goals and ambition and doing already! It simply is the type where basically, just the pure enjoyment of the activity itself!!! is already sufficient. Nothing more’s needed.
In the past, I might even have considered them a little beneath me because I was kinda of evolved past that point! Sad but true. In fact, well, hear me out. On Saturday my mother called me from outside!! I told her don’t disturb me I’m doing something! And she asked what and I said I was playing a game. And she said oh that’s rare I didn’t know you still play games nowadays…
And the sad thing was that in fact, I was feeling kinda happy inside because I felt seen. As opposed to being misunderstood see. Huh.
Anyway, after lunch today, right before I started writing this article, I wasn’t really in the mood for reading a little, and so I played 2 nice lil’ games of Bubble Shooter instead. Haha. Totally transformed I am. So, perhaps the past me might have even unconsciously disdained it somewhat. I mean, I know I do enjoy it a bit, but I’m totally moved on from that! This thing’s just too miniscule; my scale’s grander yo!
This all relates back to the essence of spirituality in my opinion. Sometimes, we think that in spirituality, we must transcend!! thoroughly!! all worldly desires and such… but it ain’t so.
Truly, I feel that the essence of new age spirituality is really none other than authenticity and embodying the truest full expression of yourself. Meanwhile, don’t you know? We are above nothing. Think about this perspective – everything!!! Literally everything is the universe! The unconditional acceptance and encompassing of everything. Like, consider tantra even. It’s totally about not disdaining some activities which might be seen as lower and based and instead using them as One more route to unity consciousness!
Unity consciousness. We are all. Nothing is beneath us. We seek to achieve Eudaimonia or human flourishing. Thus, just as we seek to achieve in our works of doing, so do we seek to truly achieve those pleasurable states of being that fill!! us in our embodiment of being.
One last example. So something I really enjoy, or at least came to mind when I was making a relevant list previously, was this. I really enjoy just playing mahjong with my family or poker cards (without money ofc!) with my friends. Now it’s obviously, truly pure enjoyment unadulterated being.
But why? Why is it that I only partake in the activities on festive occasions where there is a reason for us to be together? I mean, technically, we could totally arrange for such acts whenever!
I am also really drawn to pointing out the idea of going on holidays or overseas tours. Now, I believe that this is quite a prevalent concept. Most of the time, we’re hustling or mugging or toiling. But we otherwise! take leave, book a plane ticket and totally hundred percent indulge ourselves every now and then. It’s literally like a flip of the figurative coin, the duality/contrast of hell and heaven.
Now, I totally get that some people by nature are drawn to enjoyment via exploring foreign lands whereas some people are less so. That is totally fine and to each their own. Still!! I believe it should not! be divergently contrasting like this, pulling a full 180° so to speak.
On the contrary! Even when we are at home normally – other than the work and ‘doing’ that we have committed ourselves to, for of course money is necessary to survive among other things! – we should!! definitely also commit to maxing out or being or enjoyment as well. Yes, I get that some people have totally 100% achieved this already because they full well know what they like. Good for them, really!!
However, for some people there is just so much unfulfilled untapped potential in their lives, be it out of an unconscious resistance to it as characterised by unworthiness or more of just a throw in the towel. (unworthiness goes both ways here if you know what I mean!!!)
Please! For some, it’s even an elephant in the room that rears its ugly head at retirement, where you have no choice but to consider the area known as being as well!!!
So ultimately, the perspective I would like to present in this.
You are not limited!!! The only person limiting yourself is you!!! Truly once you have satiated your doing by putting in the work, leave it to the universe to work that all out for you! For they say that if you give, as per the energy you give out, so shall you receive. And so all’s fine. Honestly!!! All that remains is heading to being!!!
Oftentimes, the answer lies in the past. For, see, having lived for so many years ago, we have actually already previously experienced and enjoyed what fills our cup. Rather, it’s only because we don’t feel! like it is meant for us that we have so pitiably given it up.
Know this. We weren’t just created to suffer. We were created for the sake of experience. To iu koto de! Fun! Joy in state of being!!!
We’re not unworthy of those things that we enjoy. It isn’t the case that we have to sacrifice them ‘for the greater good’ due to our other oftentimes self-imposed responsibilities. One word… fear.
Is it really okay to let myself do this? Can I really let myself be in this state of enjoyment?!! And my answer is obviously… yes. Yes you can. For see, life is meant to be enjoyed. And your state of being – what is given to you by said activity is the answer. Though of course, NO to drugs and ephemeral, hakanai things that hide an inner poison in em!
And also, one final reminder!! In terms of doing, it’s quality over quantity, for there’s truly not so much you can give!! Don’t just wantonly promote stuff to doing status unless you’re totally, completely!! sure you are ready to commit to it first yeah! Hah, though… I suppose some people only have work for doing. And so definitely, I’d say that’s totally fine too. Peace out. 🙂
PS. Because a crucial element in doing is the power of consistency yo!!!
PPS. And so, I would say I have wholly reclaimed my inner child. TY!!!