The Difference Between Being and Doing

I recently attended a seminar entitled “Inspire Yourself into Action”. This was given by a good friend of mine who is a coach and who, as far as I can tell, has inspired herself into action.

As I sat there listening to her speak about the things I could do to feel more inspired about my life, I began to ponder whether this was really the way I wanted to inspire myself. I say this because I recently sat with a spiritual teacher and asked him about the conflict I have often felt regarding fulfilling myself through my work. You see it has been a life-long desire of mine to finally do what I love full time. There has been so much ‘hype’ and talk especially around finding one’s purpose and living your passion as the way to a fulfilled life, that I sometimes get lost in the wanting and frustration of not having and begin to think that my fulfillment can only come when I am finally doing what I love.

Now on the surface, this may not sound strange but that is because it is only a surface answer. My teacher reminded me that true fulfillment, in fact, the only fulfillment, is that which comes from knowing one's Self. So I asked myself as I listened to my friend share her coaching tips on how to inspire myself into action, which comes first, being fulfilled and then taking the action or taking the action and then being fulfilled?

I guess it all comes down to where you put your attention. Is it on inner fulfillment or outer? It all comes down to what you focus on. For me, I have always desired to be free, the kind of freedom which is the true liberation of the self. Many other awakened beings have spoken that when you are fully fulfilled within yourself then everything you do is enough. Each breath you take, each movement you make is in itself enough and fulfilling.

So with this in mind I contemplated on where I was wanting to put my attention and discovered that while being motivated and inspired by things I might do, or by what I love to do, was a valid way to inspire myself, listening to the vast silence that I AM and feeling myself fill up with I AM ENOUGH FOR MYSELF, seemed to resonate more with me. This deep awareness of myself is its own fulfillment and then from that inner fulfillment comes the right action to do. Knowing yourself to whole right now, not needing to do anything outside of receiving yourself as that.

Being then proceeds doing which allows whatever activity you are engaged with to be the fulfillment itself.

The Bhagavad Gita says "Established in Being, perform Action." It says that as one is established in Being, spontaneous right action, action in accordance with one's dharma (right career) will naturally and spontaneously result.

This is not to say that I do not have to take action to get the results I desire. But for me, the action I am taking comes first from my inner inspiration rather than the outer. The action comes from the stillness within first. When you are ready to listen to that inner still presence then the voice of wisdom can come through.

It is all very good and well to do things each day to have your agenda or "to do" list but I prefer to slow down and to go within first to listen to what will inspire my action and that gives me joy. This is not to say that sometimes we just have to take care of business, but I invite you to take a look and see if trying on this new way of following your inner call first might now be a more easeful way of getting the results you want.

The difference between being and doing then comes down to where do you wish to focus your attention, on your being or on the doing. I know one thing for sure, that if you put your attention on your own divine nature, that essential spark within, then not only will you gain deep inner peace and fulfillment but you may also attract and accomplish everything else you desire with more ease and joy.