Balance doing and being

What are you trying so hard to make happen in your life? Time to stop, breath, press play above and BE…

Then read the blog post below…

Doing vs Being

When we try so hard to make something happen in our life we have gone beyond “doing all we can” and have ventured into forcing and struggling to make it happen.

In struggle there is no flow.

In flow there is no struggle.

This is where “being” is important. “Being” brings balance to our “doing” and releases us from the struggle.

What are you trying so hard to do and make happen…

• In your life?
• In your relationships?
• In your career?
• With your body?
• With your finances?
• With your mental and/or physical health?

For a moment visualize that what you want is at the bottom of a river stream and the only way to get to it is by canoe.

You did everything that was needed – you put your boat in the water, hopped in and began to paddle gently towards the bottom of the stream.

As you have already done what was needed – the journey to the bottom of the stream is an effortless flow. It may come with some surprises along the way, you will get to learn many things along the journey AND you enjoy it all. This is the equivalent to doing all that you can and then “letting it be” as you take the time to enjoy the journey towards your goal. Maybe in some places the current goes slower than you expected and you learn a new skill of paddling with patience, sometimes it goes faster and you learn to navigate the canoe at a faster pace and sometimes you don’t recognize the path you are on but you have spent enough time “being” trusting and enjoying the process that you trust this downstream journey.

OR

Maybe when the unknown path comes, you experience fear that causes you to doubt the flow. Maybe you get impatient with the flow and want to speed things up, maybe you feel like you need to “do” more and maybe the stream came to a crossroads and your canoe flowed left but you were sure the quicker, better way was to the right – so you began to effort your canoe to the right – going against the flow – eventually causing your canoe to flip, turn around and now you are out of the flow and paddling as hard as you can upstream. You are exhausted but you are sure that at the top is another stream that will take you to the bottom – so you continue your journey upstream, struggling against the flow.

What if… you gave up the struggle? What if you stopped paddling upstream and took a few deep breathes. What if going left was the path of least resistance with much less struggle and a simpler and more enjoyable ride to get you to your destination?

It is never too late to stop the struggle upstream and turn your canoe around – but that will require an acceptance on your part to stop forcing the journey and a willingness to learn from the past and stop going against the flow. It will require you to trust the process, believe in synchronicities and to stop and breathe. To stop and BE.

Once you decide to give up the struggle and let the canoe turn back downstream – you are back on the smooth, enjoyable, flowing down stream journey. You may still encounter a few bumps along the way but you stay in the energy of “being” and enjoy the ride and every lesson you get to learn along the way.

The problem when you veered right was that you didn’t trust the journey to the left. It was unknown territory and in some ways just seemed too easy or maybe too scary.

The unknown though is full of possibilities and can align us with the flow of life. When we allow ourselves to slow down, sit in stillness and “rest in being” the unknown becomes the flow!

Most people (me included) have the “doing” or the “struggling” part down pat and choosing to go down the path of least effort goes against so much of what we were raised believing. The unknown was scary and therefore choosing the known was familiar yet often the very thing that kept us from allowing the flow in.

When we “try so hard” to make something happen we are ultimately forcing it into existence and not letting it unfold in many other beautiful ways. What if in the unknown – there was a much better outcome? Or an incredible idea or solution that we couldn’t see because you were so caught up in struggling, forcing and controlling our way to the direction we were so convinced was best?

We discover the benefits of the unknown when we practice “being”

“Doing is never enough if you neglect being”

~Eckhart Tolle

In “being” we stop doing and just “be”

“Being” brings balance to our “doing”

In this balance we realize that there is;

• A time for doing
• A time for being
• A time for thinking
• A time for not thinking
• A time for taking action
• A time for not taking action
• A time for stillness
• A time for movement

When is the best time to practice “being?” When we lose ourselves in the doing – meaning we get so caught up in the importance of what it is that we are doing that nothing flows anymore. Which of course is the toughest time to step back and BE – as we tend to want to try even harder.

In the “being” though – we get to see the energy we are putting behind our doing that may be causing the problems.

We can ask ourselves, “Is my “doing” coming from fear, guilt, duty, shame or resentment?”

If the answer is yes. More “being” is required. When we “be” with ourselves, we learn to shift our energy so that we are then “doing” from the energy of love, excitement, inspiration and passion. We are absolutely the only ones that can shift our energy to this. Others can motivate us but when it comes from within – it is authentic inspiration. Taking the time to “be” in stillness allows for this inward inspiration and in this energy we trust in “letting it be”

 “Being” allows us to shift our energy

No one can do that for us

When we “do” from the energy of the heart (love, passion, inspiration…) our actions are motivated by love and we step into the flow. We naturally “do”  everything with less effort – basically we give up the struggle and our canoe turns around and flows back down stream. In the flow of downstream we also release any set outcome because holding onto one particular outcome blocks so many other, better possibilities!

To shift into this energy of “doing motivated by love” which is the path of least effort and resistance we;

1. Accept what is.
2. Learn from the past and any obstacles you’ve encountered.
3. Create the future by balancing doing with being, “let it be” and release the outcome by embracing all the possibilities of the unknown

This Week’s Intention

Strike a balance between doing and being. Find the space to welcome in everything you do with simplicity and ease.

1. When you recognize you are trying “so hard” to accomplish something – BE more! Do all that you can do and then let it be! Meditation will help with this and help you to choose the path of least resistance and least effort.
2. Let go of controlling everything around you and let things unfold. BE with nature to help with this – a flower doesn’t try to bloom – it just simply blooms…
3. Recognize if you are “doing” enough and if you are – notice what energy is behind the doing? Shift so that all of your doing is from the space of love, inspiration, excitement and passion – flow WILL happen when the doing comes from this energy of love. (Meditation will also help with this)
4. Laugh, love and live more – judge less, control less and stop taking life and yourself so serious!

Meditation is of course the key to “being” and allowing ourselves to let go of so much “doing.” When we can accept what is, when we are willing to learn from the past and when we put out into the universe a new future and what we want it to be – we can overcome our fears.

The practice of meditation allows us to rest in the often uncomfortable, unknown space between what is and what will be.

Happiness happens when we learn to practice living our lives with less effort, trust in the flow of life and believe in synchronicities.

It can also be a whole lot of fun 🙂

Namaste my friends;

Leslie