“Human Doing” vs. “Human Being”
Particularly in our Modern Western Culture, we are encouraged to measure our self-worth by how much we Do. For example, how much Money We Make. Or into how big a house we can hock ourselves up to our eyeballs to move in. Or how many awards or degrees we accumulate, or home runs we hit, or widgets we sell, or …
Now I’m all for accomplishment, but there’s a fundamental problem with measuring your self-worth by how much you accomplish, and that is:
How much you DO is not entirely up to YOU!
- The potentially Olympic Athlete lands wrong and permanently blows out her knee.
- The persistent but not particularly brilliant researcher accidentally discovers the Cure for Cancer.
In both examples, the personal Virtue brought to bear is a very important factor—but it’s not the only one.
So, given that you’d like to live a contented Life, as you passionately pursue your pursuits, would you rather your sense of personal well-being be dependent on factors BEYOND YOUR CONTROL, or factors WITHIN YOUR CONTROL?
Consider these two approaches:
- At the end of the day (or week, or year, or lifetime), my self-worth depends on how many <somethings> I accomplish.
- In this moment I am fully expressing my capabilities…and in this moment I am fully expressing my capabilities…and in this moment I am fully expressing my capabilities.
Approach 1. is terribly dependent on “everything going my way”, which it almost never does.
But approach 2…. ah, that’s something wonderfully different.
TODAY, for me, is a great example. Currently we’re struggling with some Health Challenges here at Zeitler Manor, which includes going to the doctor (again), waiting and waiting to find out that “we need to run more tests, come back in a week” and there isn’t a whole lot they can do for the current misery. If I measure my contentment and self-worth by how many tasks I can check-off on my “personal achievement” do-do-list, then Doctor Day (again!) is a frustrating waste of time.
Instead, if I measure myself by: “In this moment I am effectively realizing my values (and serenity and compassion are at the top of that list)… and in THIS moment I am effectively expressing my values… and in THIS moment I am effectively expressing my values…” well, then, that’s an entirely different story!
In every moment, I am essentially expressing my list of personal priorities and values, and acting accordingly. That happens almost by definition: I am always being Me.
After all, truly, how much is given to us Mere Mortals beyond This Moment…and This Moment…and This Moment? In our (Western) conception of Time, there is a Past (over which we no longer have any control) and a Future (over which we have limited control at best!). But the present—Right Now!—ah! This is Your Moment!! Choose you this moment whom you will serve! (Adapted from Joshua 24:15 with a <grin!> )
Consider this: We don’t experience Time ‘a year at a time’, or ‘a week at a time’, or even ‘a day at a time’. Years, weeks and days may supposedly make sense in reference to clocks. But my own personal experience of Time has virtually NOTHING TO DO with the ‘clock’ model of Time—to me personally, really, all I have is THIS MOMENT. And THIS MOMENT. And THIS MOMENT.
And in each moment I am constantly MAKING A CHOICE—What kind of HUMAN am I BEING?
WHOM DO I CHOOSE TO BE—in this moment? And in THIS moment? And in THIS moment?
This is not to say that I don’t have goals, etc. I’m just saying that switching my focus from “I have to accomplish <fill in the blank> or else I’m a <fill in a bad thing>” to “I’m effectively using THIS moment, and I’m effectively using THIS moment…” … THAT change of focus has transformed my life.
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
—William Blake
