Being or Doing?

I have ideas all the time. Perhaps you do too. Not every idea can make its way into reality. Our minds move much faster than our bodies do. But some of those ideas are meant for reality; and it’s up to us to execute and manifest.

I’ve been reading Rick Rubin’s book — The Creative Act: A Way of Being. It’s filled with gems. One thing I’ve been pondering is how being creative requires Doing. Without action, nothing physical is created. Our ideas remain unmanifested. If we wish to live through our creative spirits, then Doing becomes a way of Being.

Rick Rubin writes “Turning something from an idea into reality can make it seem smaller. It changes from unearthly to earthly. The imagination has no limits. The physical world does. The work exists in both.”

I believe in the power and value of the imagination. However, In my experience, it’s much easier to be productive in the imagination than in reality. I often hear people say something along the lines of, “we’re human Beings, not human Doings, we’re meant to just be, not to do things all the time.

While I respect and agree with the sentiment of this theory, I also believe that the best path of Being is one of Doing. If I could be happy only through Being and not Doing — this would be a sign that I’m not doing what I’m meant to be doing.

When we are Doing what we are meant to do, we are living through our Dharma. When we are living through our Dharma, we create positive Karma. When we create positive Karma, we have the capacity to create lasting change in ourselves and others.

Creation is a Way of Doing.

Doing is a Way of Being.

Inaction is a Way of Dying.

Action is the Way of Karma Yoga.