In 2014 I spent a year in Uganda,  Africa. While I was there I was challenged by the name of a not for profit organisation called ‘Be More Uganda.’  These words in big bold print, on black t- shirts, were worn by each volunteer.  With so many volunteers around town, it was definitely a good advertising idea, and also a challenge at the same time.

I don’t know the organisational meaning behind it, although I could hazard a guess. But in any case it challenged me on a personal level in this way….

Be More:
Our ‘being’ is who we are.
Our ‘doing’ is what we do.
For some of us we spend so much time ‘doing’ that when we stop ‘doing’, we don’t know what our ‘being’ is all about, or maybe for some the ‘being’ got lost in the busyness of ‘doing’.

In my own experience, I was so busy ‘doing’ I lost sight of my ‘being’.  Or maybe I never really had an understanding of my ‘being’ separate from my ‘doing’. I don’t think I actually ever gave it any thought.  But at the time of the initial challenge, I felt too busy in all of my ‘doing’ to take on that challenge to address my ‘being’.

After completing my year in Uganda, I was forced to stop ‘doing’ for a while due to a health issue that needed to be addressed. What I discovered was that without my ‘doing’ I felt lost and without value.  And that was when I realised I had no idea of my ‘being’ unless I was ‘doing.’ 

But actually we were a human ‘being’ before we were a human ‘doing.’

So all of our ‘doing’ should come out of our ‘being.’  But so often we live and behave like our ‘being’ is all dependant on our ‘doing.’

If we take the time to focus on and work out our being, I believe we can then function better in our doing. Because in fully knowing our ‘being’, we are ‘fuller’ in knowing who we are, and therefore able to achieve better and possibly even achieve more in our ‘doing’.

So who is your being?
It’s not about what you do!
It’s separate.

Your ‘doing’ should be secondary to your ‘being’ so that if the ‘doing’ stops, then you are secure in your ‘being.’ 

If you did nothing, would you be secure in just ‘being’? 
Do you value your ‘being’ in itself alone?
OR
Do you only value your ‘being’ because of your ‘doing’?