Human Being vs. Human Doing
New Year’s Eve. A time of new beginnings. Time to make goals. As the New Year began, I started thinking: Why is this New Year’s Resolution thing such a big deal? We can set goals and make changes any time of the year. Then I considered my life during the holiday season. Over the past few months, there were ill and injured co-workers requiring me to work extra shifts at the hospital. I needed beds for all of my family members and bed-and-breakfast guests over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. There was food prep for Thanksgiving dinner and the great Christmas Tree Hunt to the mountains, with all its snow clothing and food preparation. There was the decorating; every corner of the house must be brimming with lights and Christmas Decor. Then the Christmas parties began. I baked Christmas treats, Christmas Eve dinner and all the Christmas Day food that is so traditional at our home. Now add to that all the gift planning, making, purchasing, calculating, and wrapping, making absolutely certain that everyone is taken care of and treated fairly. Don’t get me wrong, I love the holiday season. But, sometimes, amidst all the chaos, I tend to become a Human DOING Christmas rather than a Human BEING part of the Christmas season. In fact, I began to wonder: Have I even enjoyed the precious moments these past months? Or have I just been moving on to whatever is next on the list?
As we ring in the New Year, Christmas is suddenly over. Everyone returns to their lives and all that’s left is a few stale treats, some pine needles, and scraps of wrapping paper, tape and Styrofoam particles hiding in every corner. It’s refreshing to toss things out, to put all the decorations away, to clean the house. As I organize and vow to eat healthy foods, it feels good! It truly is a new beginning. This new beginning is the perfect time for introspection. It’s a time to be the Human Being that I am, to think about what I want, and how I feel, a time to just BE!
This year, as we set our lofty goals, thinking that life will remain as calm as the January landscape, let’s not forget to look inward at our souls. Set goals that will allow you to grow personally. Plan things that will make your heart soar, not just look good to the world around you. Find peace with how your body looks and make choices that will help you feel better physically. Add some things to your life that you are passionate about, things that will drive you to continue when the winter gets long and cold, when spring comes with its outdoor chores, and when the year rolls again to the crazy, busy holidays. Set goals that will change your soul and allow you to BE the Human Being you are.
We’ve been taught to set goals in every quadrant of our lives: physical, mental, social, spiritual, and financial. But take a look at what is important to you. It’s better to strive for one thing and succeed than to set five goals and fail to reach any of them. Ask yourself: What do I really want to change this year? Do you want to feel better physically? Do you want to pay off a debt or save money? Do you want to learn? Teach? Make some new friends? Choose that one thing that you can really focus on, the one that drives you and makes you feel alive, and then do it. Forget about what everyone thinks you should be DOING and, like the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin says, “BE Yourself!”
My dream it that this year will be a time for change, not outwardly, but within our souls. Let’s take this opportunity to look inward, to find the beautiful thing our soul wants to BE, and then BE it!