So many of us go through life caught up in what we are “doing”. In fact this is never more apparent then around any holiday time, like the winter or “Christmas” holidays. At this time it seems more prevalent than perhaps at any other time how caught up in “doing” we have become as a human society. But is doing things the path that leads us to greater joy, inner peace and satisfaction from life? When we look around it appears far from it.
During the busiest, most culturally driven times in our lives most of us tend to fall under a sort of hypnotic spell where we get caught up in lots of doing. It is all too common to hear statements like:
- “I have so much to do!”
- “There is so much to be done!”
- “There is not enough time to do _!”
- “We are so busy doing __!”
- “I need to be doing _!”
During these busy times of “doing”, we forget more than ever about the “being.” Being is our natural state of living. As I first heard Neale Donald Walsch beautifully explain:
We are human beings, not human doings.
Let us therefore reflect on this concept in using this essay, and try to bring ourselves back to our most natural state as human beings, whether it is to make the most of any holiday season, or life in general.
The “Doing Illusion”
How are you feeling as you read this? Am I describing what you have experienced and are experiencing in your life at this time. Are you laughing or crying about finding yourself in this state? Some of us indeed will laugh it off, shrug it off and ground ourselves back to who we are and how we want to live.
Others of us unfortunately may not be so happy with what we are hearing. Some of us live in such a constant state of “doing” that we not only forgot how to “be” but do not even know that there IS a better way to live. I often wonder how people get caught up so much – so much that they “forget” what life is really all about and how to go back to living in a state of “being”.
Why and how do any of us get to this point? For no other reason then due to the doing illusion. I call it the doing illusion because it is a state we chose to put ourselves in, thinking that this is how it was, how it is and how it always has to be. This is nothing more than an illusion that our ego tries to present to us on a daily basis.
I know this starts right from when most of us are growing up, from watching and listening to our parents. That is usually the initial way many of us fall into this same pattern. The great news is, is that no one is doomed to this state, regardless of how you lived in the past or choose to live now. We can snap out of it at any time and many people do.
The doing illusion is practised widely in our society by the majority mainly because we have grown to be so disconnected from our inner beings, our spirits and our souls. We have simply “forgotten” who we are and why we are really here.
Yes, society keeps telling us to “do” – do a job, do your groceries, do your laundry, do your taxes, do, do, do… However, who is all this “doing” really serving? Society in general? Not for a second, so don’t kid yourself.
When we get into this pattern, we usually cannot imagine life being any other way. But not only is there another way, it is our birthright. We were meant to live exceptionally wonderful lives, not lives where all we have at the end is a list of tasks that we have completed.
Thus, so many of us get caught up in the “doing illusion” as we feel that that is what “is right”, that that is how we are “supposed to live” or that that is the “normal way.” Yet in reality, none of these are true.
By living in the “illusion of doing,” we are only doing what is right for our own personal and collective egos, as your spirit does not know any other way to live than in a state of “being.”
Take the holidays as an example. So many of us are so concerned about “doing” the decorating, “doing” the baking, “doing” the shopping and so on and so on, that many of us are completely missing the value of this holiday.
Our Natural State – the State of “Being”
The truth is that NOTHING needs to be done. You just need to “be” – be in a state that brings you the most joy, happiness, peace, love, etc. If per say baking does that for you then wonderful! I have experienced many people baking out of a state of “being” rather than “doing.” In fact you can even easily tell on yourself which state you are acting out of, depending on how you feel about a particular task or choice.
If you are singing merrily as you drive your car to the grocery store amidst the traffic, rather than huffing and puffing for all these people to get out of your way – then you are in a state of being.
If you are strolling the stores excitedly looking for unique gift ideas, rather than complaining how many gifts you still have to buy – then you are in a state of being.
If you are cooking new dishes with fun and flair, rather than worrying over the stove if they are going to turn out – then you are in a state of being.
If you are playing with your kids or enjoying time alone, rather than being stressed over how much more needs to be done – then you are in a state of being.
The examples are countless. The bottom line is that whatever you are doing whether during this holiday season or any other time of the year:
May it be coming from your heart and showering love on all that it touches!
May it be coming from your soul and bringing peace and tranquillity to all those who share in it!
And may it be coming from your most highest self and shining as the brightest light this holiday season, illuminating the magnificence of what it really means to be a “human being!”