To Be or Not to Be is a Very Good Question

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
Unknown

Many of my blogs focus on action and on doing something. As important as action is, there is something even more significant than doing and that is being. We can do all the things in the world but if that does not lead us to “be” someone good, than none of it really matters. Our way of being is even more important than what we do.

A lot of what we become does depend on what we do. However often times we “do” with the wrong the attitude and wrong heart. For example, this Christmas I may decide to donate my pay check to the Salvation Army. This would be fantastic however if my motivate is simply to get a tax write off, be recognized in the local paper, and avoid Christmas shopping for others, than perhaps I am not being as generous as I may appear. And thus I will not receive the full benefits of my action. Our state of being is so critical to our success.

So simply doing good with strings attached is good but simply doing good for goodness sake is grand. At times it may behoove each of us to reflect on our actions and determine our motivation behind them. Are we serving others because we truly care about their well-being? Are we smiling to brighten others day? Are we giving of our time because we know how much it may help others? Assessing our motivates behind our actions can help us know if we are truly becoming who we want to be.

The sad truth is that many of us can do a lot of good things without becoming good people. We may profess to be generous, kind, thoughtful, etc. and play the part well in the public eye but when left alone we may behave just the opposite. What we do when we believe no one is watching is a big indicator of what we have become.

I believe most of us have a desire to become good people. Who we are is often determined by our sincere actions and desires. I hope during this time of year that we will strive to “be” rather than simply do, that we will focus on becoming who we want to be rather than achieving what we want to do. I believe doing this will lead to great happiness, success, and satisfaction in life.