Dear Reader:

We have talked several times on this post about the mistake too many people make when they emphasize  “doing” over “being.” In today’s world…work seems to have taken priority in people’s self-imagery and identification.

Yet…if we hear resumes read as eulogies at a funeral…heads start nodding…no one cares about that…friends and loved ones want to hear stories of caring, of kindness, or giving tirelessly to worthy causes…including stories of being an amazing parent and/grandparent. Family and friends want others to know their loved one was special because they lived their life for others…not just themselves.

“Doing” by itself, no matter how many hours are involved, is not the way God intended us to live our lives. We must leave time for “being“…for heart and soul searching, for finding our special passion that will best contribute to others.

Yet…when I discovered this quote yesterday, “Becoming is better than being” it immediately made me pause and re-consider this new possibility. Don’t we all want to be able to say (by the end of our journey on earth) that we are better individuals today than we were yesterday. We have given ourselves permission to grow and stay open to new ideas concerning the well-being of others?

I was reading a fascinating article about the on-going struggle with trees in a forest to find light for survival…this constant search actually defines the shape of the forest in the process.

For instance…in rain forests…if one tree topples…thus allowing more light to seep down into the deep jungles…smaller plants now have their opportunity to grow taller and thrive …whereas they would have wilted and eventually died from lack of light …if not for one tree falling and opening up a pocket of space for the light to shine down.

The more I thought about that fact… the more I realized that this was what the quote was all about…If we have shared our light, our passion/talent with others while alive…our passing allows those most affected to have more light now…in which they can thrive more successfully. We are all interconnected and interdependent…just like nature.

So until tomorrow…the next time you have to make an important choice in your life…whether it involves a job promotion, a career change, a move…whatever…ask yourself if your choice benefits only you…or the people around you and the people you will encounter along the next path in your life.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh