I do admit that most of the time, I am more into “doing” (need to get the job done) that sometimes I would forget that I am dealing with my staff who are human beings. Anyway, I try to be constantly cautious knowing that this is my weakness. Every morning I would pray ” Oh Holy Spirit soul of my soul, I adore you. Enligthen, strenghten, guide and console me. Tell me what I ought to do and command me to do it. I promise to be permissive in everything that you permit to happen. Show me only what is Your will.”. I do find it very effective.

Belinda, thanks for the blog.

Very thought provoking post. I too sometimes feel similarly about not having clear and concise directions, some time my life is happening when I am making other plans 🙂 Even with my blogging it is the same.

Beautiful post! I am so glad to have read the article. Yes – life is about ‘being’ and avoid the ‘doing’ part.
Yes, I do celebrate without a reason as It feels good and kind of gives me motivation. You guys might want to try that! It is a different feeling.

Bye for now,
Cheryl Paris Blog

@Tony, I wouldn’t mind at all! I so appreciate your enthusiasm for digging deep and for thoughtful questions and I’m very grateful for all that you share with me and us here. I do want to address one particular thing in your comment. I seriously doubt that doing has gotten you nowhere. Your drawings got me as fan! While I think that it’s healthy and natural to wonder why certain things didn’t work out, it’s just as important to accept that sometimes, we may not be asking the right questions or if we are, there are simply no answers; and letting go of certain questions can free us to pursue the quality of life that we (all of us) deserve. As for measuring our worth according to society’s standards, a couple quick issues I have are: these standards may be due for a re-thinking and possibly an overhaul and why do these standards persist when they make so many people miserable? As for your questions, I have no answers and you probably guessed I’d say that. I generally don’t believe in curses and prefer to focus on the blessings. Thanks for contributing so much value to these discussions!

@Dani, thank you and me, too!

@Vani, welcome to The Halfway Point! Thank you for your comment.

@Eva, ha ha! That’s a wise college roommate! And yes, every day is an occasion to celebrate! Thanks!

@Patty, you said that so clearly and perfectly. The ego, the soul, all this seeking we do; I guess it’s a matter of patience and faith? I’m far from anti-doing but I’m better at not getting sucked in so deep that I neglect the being part. I love that Joseph Campbell quote and your illustrating that the ladder is to be climbed down to meet ourselves. Thank you for yet again more beautiful words full of wisdom.

@Baker, so true. Starting from a place of joy and positive intention lights the path that make the doing a happy part of the being.

@Angela, welcome to The Halfway Point! Thank you for sharing your experience and your insight here. I love that you make a distinction between human doing and human being. Knowing there’s a difference surely makes a difference, doesn’t it? Thanks for stopping by.

@Sara, thank you very much! I love your posts, too as well as your beautiful photographs, and I’m privileged to be able to take you on a wander. Glad I made you laugh! I can just picture you loving being alive on your porch, snapping pretty photos of flowers, birds and trees and singing a happy tune. Thank you for making me smile.

@Rudri, isn’t it interesting how that works. I agree that life is for living and not for planning. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience.

@Celeste, I think you bring up a universal concern, that if we commit to one path, we are missing out on other paths, and not seeing the benefits doesn’t get us the gold stars that our egos crave. I’m not at all advocating for not doing because I think we have an innate and imperative need to do when we are able. I think too much focus on doing at the expense of quality being fails to honor our multifacetedness and takes us away from paying attention to, I don’t know, a baby learning to say new words or a potential new friend that’s entered our life. Thanks for joining the discussion and I’m enjoying Perusing Celeste!

@Greg, I just love how rich your comments are! Yes, it seems we say it often enough: live in the moment, one day at a time, etc. etc. But because we’re taught to value doing at an early age (oh, look, the baby can walk! or hey, you can ride a bike!) and this is reinforced throughout school but the being part doesn’t get much air time. We don’t ever get homework to BE. You make a great point about long-term plans not accounting for growth. It’s just like with any business or non-profit, I guess. When we create projections and predictions, the very nature of these words factor in flexibility. I love your friend’s quote. And your last paragraph, I wholeheartedly agree. Many thanks.

@BK, good point! We have different expectations and get different results. Who exactly set society’s standards, right? Enjoy the ride sounds so much better than check the tires, adjust the speed, recalibrate the route, follow the map, etc. Thanks for your insight!

@Phil, I so want to be in the park watching clouds right now. And the inner direction, I can tell you know a lot about that, too. Thanks!

@Lauren, thank you very much! I’m really enjoying your blog posts, too! It is interesting to ponder what could’ve been and I think it’s natural to wonder about how different our realities would be if we’d done one thing different. I’m really loving celebrating for no reason. It can be very simply executed but the boost is tremendous. Thanks for sharing the Abraham-Hicks quote. I may have done that once or twice (but I’m like that with food sometimes : ) I can tell that the doing you’re immersed in comes from your passion. You have a great way of exuding happiness. Seems funny to say that as I’ve only experienced you in print online, but you do, you do. Thanks for adding so much meat into the discussion!

@BigLittleWolf, I love your point about the importance of refashioning life as we grow. Doing and being are both important, but the evidence of how much more focus is put on doing and how much less on being is worrisome. If there’s ever any talk of being from an established voice, it’s often predicated upon doing: be happy by doing this or that, etc. As for peppering the being with questions, I say what an enriching way to be! And yes, not always easy to do since we do still have to put food on the table, shuttle the kiddies around and the whole lot of doing that goes with living. Thank you for your beautiful and honest words.

@Kristen, one of the big joys in life is to find something in common with others. With you I have a few things in common: I mother, I write, I love. As for being, I am also happy and loved and sometimes anxious. I’m glad this post has helped you in some way. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here and at your awesome blog Motherese!

As for doing and being, I need both. But the nature of what I am doing, and how I am being are both much more important to me, as I grow older. I want my contributions – in product or in kindness – to matter. I think I always have. I also want my “being” to be filled with questions, because that is how we learn, which of course grows more questions, and so we are infinitely expanding. And that seems good, to me.

Not easy, but good. And somehow, in all this, we still have live. Food, home, caring for kids. For each other. Practical matters. And therein lies the dilemma, for many of us.

A very thoughtful discussion, as usual.

You’ve done it again – amazing post! I LOVE the photo too.

“It sometimes feels like a gaping hole almost big enough to see through to other destinations we could’ve picked”. That statement is so poignant.

Just the other day I was talking with a friend about how interesting it is to consider how different our lives would be if we had made just one decision to go down a different path (a job, a place to live, a partner).

Yet, I love what Abraham-Hicks has said: If we are enjoying a great meal do we think about the delicious meal we could be having down the street?

I love so much your invitation to celebrate just because. The more times I circle around the sun, the more I become convinced that for me it is the being not the doing that provides the joy in life.

Funny that I am saying that when I am immersed in the doing at the moment. Yet, when the doing involves following my passion, it feels like it becomes part of the being.

Phil