When we cannot just "be," then we have to be "something," and when we have to be something, we have to set goals. When we set goals, however, we are never satisfied until the goal is reached, and therefore, it is only when there are no goals that we can just "be."
Just being has its advantages. Other than not having to achieve this shallow goal or that pretentious goal, just being forms creative space in our minds. Have you ever had an opportunity to just waste time for a while? It doesn't happen often; maybe if you break down and have to wait for a tow truck in the middle of nowhere, or when a loved one is in the emergency room and you wait patiently outside. Those are the moments when you can just be, and those are the moments that create the quantum leaps in our lives, those shifts in values.
While we are programmed to engage in life, we experience none of those "wasted" moments. Every moment has to have meaning for us, and unfortunately, few of them do. Seldom can we just be, because regardless of how quiet we are, our minds are going a mile a minute, trying to keep up with all of our frantic striving to become . . . something.
Even when we meditate, we must be following a process of some kind. We can't just sit there as if we are waiting for the tow truck, or word from a doctor.
We just can't be.
E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-nine years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com
anagarika eddie is a meditation teacher at the Dhammabucha Rocksprings Meditation Retreat Sanctuary (www.dhammarocksprings.org), and author of A Year to Enlightenment. His 30 years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Thervada Buddhist monk.
» left by Avis Ward(10,703) Avis Ward (1 year 221 days ago.)
I be all the time, E. I be busy, gabbing, laughing, working and pulling your leg. I enjoyed this short narrative on just being. Being is an artform. When I saw the title, I thought of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera. Did you read it? The film was did not do justice to the book as is the case, most often.
» left by E. Raymond Rock(2,923) E. Raymond Rock (1 year 218 days ago.)
Hi Avis. Thank you so much. Been busy as well, helping to establish the Sanctuary Meditation Center in Naples FL " The Sanctuary Meditation Center is located in Naples, Florida on fifteen acres of natural, native habitat. It is in walking distance of the Corkscrew Sanctuary, the Audubon Society's premier wildlife refuge encompassing 11,000 acres of wetlands and forest. Meditation guidance and instructions are available by resident Theravada Buddhist monks, as well as senior laypeople. Free meditation instruction is offered on Friday evenings at 6:30 PM, followed by a group meditation and discussion. Three-day retreats are held monthly, but space is limited (except for tenting) so please contact us in advance if you are planning to attend a retreat. Also, if Friday evenings do not fit into your schedule, you can check for other sitting times in our Naples and Fort Myers branch groups. Just contact us below. Our center is dedicated to the certainty that contentment through positive personal transformation is not only possible, but the only lasting happiness. Because of this certainty, all of our services are on a donation-basis-only in keeping with the Theravada Buddhist tradition that practicing the Dhamma (that which transforms) should always be free. We trust that our expenses will be met by the generosity of those who experience this transformation in their hearts, a transformation that not only opens them to the happiness of generosity, but to the freedom of being aware of the needs of others. Please call or email us for additional information or for any questions you may have. Located at 1112 Sanctuary Road, Naples, FL 34120 Best..........e
» left by Dianne Lehmann(5,730) Dianne Lehmann (1 year 220 days ago.)
Hi e. Your article puts it very plainly and understandably. There is too much "doing" and not enough "being." But my little voice frequently tells me when I am sitting "wasting" time that I should be "doing" something. Quieting my little voice seems to be my problem. Thanks for the reminder. Dianne
» left by E. Raymond Rock(2,923) E. Raymond Rock (1 year 220 days ago.)
Hi Dianne! Nice to hear from you. If you are ever in southwest Florida, please stop in and visit our center, and I will ask Than Noppanai, one of our monks, to give you some meditation instruction.
» left by sue thom from nj (1 year 217 days ago.)
hi e, i am aware of the concept of just being, but i'm not very good at it for the reasons you mentioned, however, i have found a way. at night, when the air is cool, and the stars are out, my partner and i go and sit on our front porch swing and turn on elton john and i sit back, let the music take me away to a spot where i can just be. it's a beautiful and freeing feeling, no other thoughts flooding my mind.
thanks for sharing,
best regards,
sue
» left by E. Raymond Rock(2,923) E. Raymond Rock (1 year 217 days ago.)
Hi Sue, good to hear form you again. Hope that things went well with you. Just "being" isn't easy, it involves understanding our minds and not blindly following where the undeveloped mind leads us. If we find ourselves suffering in one way or another, we only have to look at our minds and where they initially led us, perhaps promising us happiness, to discover the root of our discontent. It all begins with watching one's breath in meditation. Then, soon, we will know every ripple of the mind before the ripples become dramas that take us into our discontent. It's a simple thing to talk about but difficult to master. Few people in the world are happy, yet they cling to their unhappiness and believe that the unhappiness is happiness because that is how confused the untrained mind becomes, making untruths out of truths. Hope to see you in Naples someday so that you can learn all about this! Best............e
» left by Teresa Ortiz(10,102) Teresa Ortiz (1 year 207 days ago.)
Hi e.. we do miss out on a lot of amazing moments when we are too busy doing. Thanks for the great reminder to slow down. Life has been exceptionally busy for us this past 6 weeks and Saturday my husband and I finally crashed. We did nothing, we slept and we had the most amazing day. Should have read this sooner but I was too busy. :-)
» left by E. Raymond Rock(2,923) E. Raymond Rock (1 year 206 days ago.)
Hi Teresa! Good to hear from you and that you are doing fine. It's those quiet moments, when we are forced to do nothing , when insight sometimes arises.
Metta.........e
» left by Stacey T Pollock(125) Stacey T Pollock (1 year 203 days ago.)
Yes I agree, living in the now, to just 'be' is where I think people should focus. We are always trying to reach goals that we forget to experience them as we go, always creating more to search for instead of enjoying what we have. Yes the most ideal creation is in the moment, where we can enjoy as well as experience it on all levels without the pressure of have to's or should do's. Respond to this comment
» left by E. Raymond Rock(2,923) E. Raymond Rock (1 year 203 days ago.)
Thanks Stacey. Remaining in the moment, unfortunately is not soemthing that is done easliy. It requires a retraining of the mind.
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