Being vs Doing
"I wonder as I wander out under the sky..."
No idea why, but that song was going through my head this morning. OK, in all fairness, I usually have zero idea why any song is going through my head. They just tend to jump in there all on their own. Something somebody says triggers a snippet of lyrics, or something strikes me a certain way and a related (or totally unrelated) song or piece of music pops into my head.
Shiny!
Back to that song specifically. It got me thinking...do I ever just "wander"? Not usually. I am usually "going somewhere" or "doing something". There is generally a purpose or a driver behind where I go and what I do. I don't just "wander".
Except in my mind. I do a fair amount of "wandering" in there. It got me into a bit of trouble when I was in elementary school. OK, between that, and having a nasty habit of speaking my mind, those two things were the primary source of 99% of the "trouble" I would ever get into in elementary school.
My folks and teachers used to get after me for "daydreaming". A lot.
My problem was, as I see it, that I would get bored. I could read faster than most of my classmates, so I picked up on things quicker. Remember sitting in school, and the teacher would have everyone read a paragraph in the textbook out loud? Agonizing to somebody like me. Not that I minded reading out loud. I minded those poor kids that struggled with reading. You could almost hear the class thinking, "Oh geez...Johnny's turn to read...Johnny really struggles with reading...we'll be here, listening to him trip over this one paragraph, for HOURS." And I would always end up feeling badly for Johnny, because he would have his learning struggles put on display for the entire class.
But it would be times like that, my mind would wander. I'd either flip ahead in the textbook to some section we hadn't gotten to yet, and would read to myself, "discovering" new things, or I'd simply zone out, and let my mind wander. What were we going to do at recess? What must it have been like to live in colonial America? During the Civil War, kids my age were drummers. How did they handle it? What did the ocean really look like? (Remember, I grew up in Iowa.)
My folks would get after me, because I was "wasting time", whenever I would just sit there, immersed in my imagination. But in retrospect, I have to strongly disagree. I don't think it's a waste of time to sit quietly and reflect. Or imagine. Or just "be". We are always going, doing, pushing, striving, achieving...all active verbs.
How about "being"? Technically, that's also an active verb; however, it's a verb that describes essentially the opposite of "doing".
When our daughter was a teenager, we took a family camping vacation to the North Shore of Lake Superior. We hauled the camper up, I got everything set up, started a small fire, opened a camping chair, and sat down, letting out a deep sigh. Our daughter came up to me with a very confused look on her face. "So, Dad," she said, "NOW what are we gonna do?"
I looked around at the quiet woods, and waving my arm in a grand, all-encompassing circle, proudly stated, "We're doing it, honey."
"But Dad, there's nothing to DO."
To which I replied, "God created us as human 'beings', not human 'doings'."
She looked confused. I finished, "So for a week, we are just going to 'be', not 'do'."
Sheer torture for an active teenager! Also, one of our favorite vacations ever.
How do I get to the point where I can "wander"? Seriously, how can I justify taking the time away from all the "stuff" that needs to be done, just to quietly relax and chill? Because I am reminded of Psalm 46:10.
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Take that first sentence. If I'm having trouble slowing down, and just "being", I take that first sentence, and then I starting removing the last word. Each time, it is a reminder to me from God.
"Be still, and know that I am God."
"Be still, and know that I AM."
"Be still, and know that."
"Be still and know."
"Be still."
"Be."
This causes me to slow down long enough to "wander". This slows me down enough I can hear the still, small voice of my King. You see, Elmer Fudd had the right idea when he said, "Shhhh! Be vewwy vewwy quiet! I'm hunting wabbits!"
If I'm "hunting" my God and King, all I have to do is be vewwy vewwy quiet.
Be.
My two cents worth today.
No idea why, but that song was going through my head this morning. OK, in all fairness, I usually have zero idea why any song is going through my head. They just tend to jump in there all on their own. Something somebody says triggers a snippet of lyrics, or something strikes me a certain way and a related (or totally unrelated) song or piece of music pops into my head.
Shiny!
Back to that song specifically. It got me thinking...do I ever just "wander"? Not usually. I am usually "going somewhere" or "doing something". There is generally a purpose or a driver behind where I go and what I do. I don't just "wander".
Except in my mind. I do a fair amount of "wandering" in there. It got me into a bit of trouble when I was in elementary school. OK, between that, and having a nasty habit of speaking my mind, those two things were the primary source of 99% of the "trouble" I would ever get into in elementary school.
My folks and teachers used to get after me for "daydreaming". A lot.
My problem was, as I see it, that I would get bored. I could read faster than most of my classmates, so I picked up on things quicker. Remember sitting in school, and the teacher would have everyone read a paragraph in the textbook out loud? Agonizing to somebody like me. Not that I minded reading out loud. I minded those poor kids that struggled with reading. You could almost hear the class thinking, "Oh geez...Johnny's turn to read...Johnny really struggles with reading...we'll be here, listening to him trip over this one paragraph, for HOURS." And I would always end up feeling badly for Johnny, because he would have his learning struggles put on display for the entire class.
But it would be times like that, my mind would wander. I'd either flip ahead in the textbook to some section we hadn't gotten to yet, and would read to myself, "discovering" new things, or I'd simply zone out, and let my mind wander. What were we going to do at recess? What must it have been like to live in colonial America? During the Civil War, kids my age were drummers. How did they handle it? What did the ocean really look like? (Remember, I grew up in Iowa.)
My folks would get after me, because I was "wasting time", whenever I would just sit there, immersed in my imagination. But in retrospect, I have to strongly disagree. I don't think it's a waste of time to sit quietly and reflect. Or imagine. Or just "be". We are always going, doing, pushing, striving, achieving...all active verbs.
How about "being"? Technically, that's also an active verb; however, it's a verb that describes essentially the opposite of "doing".
When our daughter was a teenager, we took a family camping vacation to the North Shore of Lake Superior. We hauled the camper up, I got everything set up, started a small fire, opened a camping chair, and sat down, letting out a deep sigh. Our daughter came up to me with a very confused look on her face. "So, Dad," she said, "NOW what are we gonna do?"
I looked around at the quiet woods, and waving my arm in a grand, all-encompassing circle, proudly stated, "We're doing it, honey."
"But Dad, there's nothing to DO."
To which I replied, "God created us as human 'beings', not human 'doings'."
She looked confused. I finished, "So for a week, we are just going to 'be', not 'do'."
Sheer torture for an active teenager! Also, one of our favorite vacations ever.
How do I get to the point where I can "wander"? Seriously, how can I justify taking the time away from all the "stuff" that needs to be done, just to quietly relax and chill? Because I am reminded of Psalm 46:10.
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Take that first sentence. If I'm having trouble slowing down, and just "being", I take that first sentence, and then I starting removing the last word. Each time, it is a reminder to me from God.
"Be still, and know that I am God."
"Be still, and know that I AM."
"Be still, and know that."
"Be still and know."
"Be still."
"Be."
This causes me to slow down long enough to "wander". This slows me down enough I can hear the still, small voice of my King. You see, Elmer Fudd had the right idea when he said, "Shhhh! Be vewwy vewwy quiet! I'm hunting wabbits!"
If I'm "hunting" my God and King, all I have to do is be vewwy vewwy quiet.
Be.
My two cents worth today.
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