DO or BE? A Human Balancing Act Are you primarily a DO-er or a BE-er? Perhaps the answer to human fulfillment is a combination of the two?

I am watching the gulls this morning as they soar over the water and feed on whatever they find on shore. They are not worried about whether they will find their next meal. They don't store food for tomorrow in case they won't be able to find a clam or small crab. They squabble but quickly forget their momentary disagreement. They just ARE what they are meant to BE at this moment.




Listening to the Neil Diamond song "BE" from the Jonathan Livingston Seagull soundtrack reminds me that we are called human BE-ings, and yet we devote much of our lives to DO-ing rather than BE-ing. It's the drive to DO, succeed, achieve that prevents us from BE-ing who we are at our core.




I know many people who decide to work in an occupation that will afford them the luxuries that they believe will make them happy...only to find that they are miserable. They are busy DO-ing, rather than following the direction of their passion. Perhaps they love art, and yet they don't want to be a poor struggling artist. They put their passion on the back burner. But, that passion (that gift) will continue to call to them throughout their life until they heed the call and express themselves through their art.




The challenge is to BE and DO. As humans, living in our economically-driven society, we need to find that balance, DO-ing what we love, using our gifts, expressing our innermost dreams.