Category Archives: Being

We have never arrived

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“We have never arrived. We are in a constant state of becoming.”

—Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter

Image from Unsplash by Nikoloz Gachechiladze

Recently, I took a Sunday afternoon the see “A Complete Unknown” — the movie about Bob Dylan’s early career from 1961-1965.  Although the film blended fact with a good amount of creative interpretation, I found it entertained a bit more than if it had been a pure documentary.

The film made a point of highlighting intimate moments of Dylan’s life between his performances, taking a look below his public persona to help the viewer see his evolution as both a person and artist with something to say.

In 2016, Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for having created new poetic expressions within his craft.  The Swedish academy felt strongly that his work transcended the boundaries between music and poetry.

EXERCISE:

In what ways are you a work in progress? How are you continuing to write the ever-evolving story of your life?

When we can lay down our fear and anger and choose responses other than aggression,

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“When we can lay down our fear and anger and choose responses other than aggression, we create the conditions for bringing out the best in us humans.”

—Margaret Wheatley, American writer, speaker, and management consultant

Image from Unsplash by Ditto Bowo

To what degree are these times bringing out the worst in us as humans?

How much fear, anger, and aggression have you seen in the media and your communities over the past several months?

Consider Victor Frankl‘s statement: Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.

EXERCISE:

In what ways can you choose to keep a cool and level head in these turbulent times?

How can you mindfully choose more appropriate responses to the hotheads around you, to bring out the best in yourself and others?

To be To do To have Take life in this order

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To be. To do. To have. Take life in this order.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Paico Official

The CALM app I use each morning recently added a new seven-minute morning meditation/guided journey called The Daily Jay with Jay Shetty. Jay is an English author, a former Hindu monk, and a life coach. Prior to joining the CALM team, he was perhaps best known as the host of the podcast On Purpose which included many famous guests and has received over 60 million downloads.

In a recent offering, he suggested the idea of a To-Be list to go along with our often-crammed To-Do lists.

Considering how we currently behave, and then shifting and choosing how we would prefer to be as we do the things we need and want to do, can make a remarkable difference. Consider the following word list and expand it for yourself as you do your chores, go to work, listen to your children, and relate to others in your various communities.

Calm Patient Positive Hopeful Courageous
Generous Loving Supportive Helpful Kind
Open-Minded Bold Caring Disciplined Funny
Joyful Content Fair Nurturing Adventurous

EXERCISE:

Add an extra To Be column next to your To-Do list today.  Please reply to this post about the kind of day you have. What other words of being did you add to your list?