A friend recently sent this to me. I resonate with the message very strongly. Today is November 29th. I returned to the US from my trip to Indonesia and Malaysia March 15th. The shock of returning was more disruptive than I had imagined.
Everything here in the US is so rushed. People are constantly running about with little time available to “BEING”. The one word I hear most here in the US I never heard in 3 1/2 months of travel: BUSY! It seems that being busy is a reward in itself. But what about living and being joyful?
People in the US seem driven to get somewhere, do something, or achieve something and that driving force interferes with being. A friend in California told me succinctly that she was tired of people blaming “time” for their life and busyness. She explained: people say they don’t have time for things in their life. They don’t have time to eat right, time to meditate and de-stress, time to exercise, time to do many of the things they want to do. TIME doesn’t make people’s decisions for them, they do.
So what is driving the decisions? Often and perhaps in most cases, something beneath full consciousness is driving decisions. Some “should” or deeply ingrained “ought to”, lingering just beyond the clarify of consciousness, is driving decisions. To this day, my father at 89 had an extremely difficult time doing nothing and feels at loss not being busy. He’ll jump up and putz with anything and often for hours rather than settle comfortably into being. Once when I was visiting them at home years ago, lounging on the couch with a good book, he stopped and told me he wishes he could do what I do? Confused, I asked him what he meant. “Sit, relax and read a book” is what he said. He feels anxious doing nothing.
At this moment, he’s doing an admirable job of being because mom is in rehab, he’s 265 miles from home and there is little “doing” available to him. He remains restless. Why? What makes “being” such an uncomfortable state?
When I traveled in Indonesia and Malaysia, I was immersed in being. People had time and were present. If you smiled they smiled with you. Even though we didn’t speak the language, we had a connection. When I stopped somewhere to eat, I could sit and read all day. They would NEVER hurry me out so they could turn the table.
Reflecting on being versus doing, this video showed up yesterday. Here it is for you to enjoy.
One thing I marvel at when I return home: running water. Amazing what we have her in safe, drinkable and hot water that much of the world will never experience!
Have a pleasant experience of being grateful!