Becoming More, Not Doing More
“Being More, Not Doing More” has been the motto around here for a while now, but it feels especially important now! As plans have been canceled and we find ourselves restless at home, it’s easy to create grand plans for ourselves. Even I created a COVID-19 Bucket List of the rhythms I don’t typically get to and projects around the house I’ve been putting off. It almost feels natural to try to fill this time now that we have it because that’s the model we’ve been given. Go, go, go. On to the next time. Monetize what you do, what you love, where you spend your time. Produce, do better, do more. Slay. Hustle harder.
But what if that’s not the only way?
What if instead we grant ourselves permission to reset our souls and rest over the next few weeks like we’ve never done before? Of course we’ll keep up with our work and responsibilities we need to do at home—but decide to cherish our downtime and just….be.
Haven’t you’ve been wondering where you’ve been lately? Haven’t you felt less and less aligned with who you feel created to be? Haven’t you asked for down time, a sabbatical, a much needed rest?
Then why, friend, are you filling this space now with more and more? What if we rebel against the system we’ve been living in and simply…live? What would that look like for you? What would it mean to just simply exist?
Now, don’t let me lose you. This doesn’t mean sitting and staring at the wall for the next 21 days. But it does mean we can stop doing and going and producing and making for any other reason than “it feels good right now.” We can find ourselves once again, our joy once again.
How? You may ask.
The answer, my friend, lies within each of us. And it’s as different as we are different. So listen to what your body is telling you. Ask yourself what you’ve missed doing lately. Or what you’ve always wanted to try. What brings you peace. Or joy? Or laughter? What questions have you always wondered that you can now find the answer to?
And give yourself permission to…
Rest. We’re talking long naps, but also things that ease our souls.
Sit with your emotions, whatever they may be.
Move your body in ways that feel powerful and strong—not for any other objective.
Read, discover, and experience into new worlds.
Create for beauty’s sake and because your hands are itching to make something.
Learn and ask questions about things that offer no external value to your life except the simple fact they blow your mind.
Connect with others. Express your thoughts as they are right now. Listen.
Be silent or give ourselves permission to be loud.
If you’re still not sure where to start—ask your inner child what she loved to do, and maybe go do that very thing! Or ask yourself in 35 years what she spends her time doing and give that a try.
Then start being a little more & more each day. Doodle a bit. Drink tea before bed at night. Stretch as the sun floods in your window each morning. Start these habits now so when our lives return as they once were and the systems begin knocking on our doors once again, we have new rhythms ingrained within us that bring us life. And we will carry them with us, ready for life renewed.
The dolphins are returning the the canals of Venice and the Earth all around us is bursting in new life. Would’t it be a shame if we missed this chance to do the same? Just a thought.
