Discovering the Art of Being

It dawned on me the other day as my hands penetrated the icy salt water. I had just caught my first wave in eight months and I felt myself more present than ever with the ocean. I watched my feet dance across my board as the icy blue liquid licked my feet. My grin so present that I felt muscles in my face, in which had been dormant within stone for eternity within my perception. What I was experiencing in this moment was the art of being or a profound sense of bliss. I had no concept of how powerful this state was, until a wonderful podcast I listed to a few weeks ago popped my internal bubble.

In Western Society from the moment we become cognisant, you can reflect back on your Kindergarten teacher asking everyone in class what they wanted to be when they grow up. Personally, I had every intention of becoming a Fire Fighter and spraying down massive buildings holding the hose alone. Yes, a little guy with a big imagination. Now, this is not to demonize our culture, but we do have a few things backwards and extremely twisted. You can't blame teachers or parents, as they were taught the same principles. Unfortunately, the over emphasis on "becoming", leaves us only believing there is one model. The idea that I am presenting, is very much the Buddhist mindset. Many would argue that this is a very dull state of mind. After all "becoming", is a consistent cocaine high of peaks and valleys of exhilaration! When we perceive "being", in our Western mindset it sounds quite mundane much as a Monks life. However, Monks are some of the healthiest, most vibrant human beings on this planet.

If we are being than we are in tune with our daily activities. For so long I have yearned to become or to achieve my purpose. Recently, I detached from this mindset and embraced a new one in the art of being. Presently, I have honed in on building myself and being content with each task during my days. It's allowed me to slow down and urged my creative mind to mold around a new model of productivity. I think it's imperative to take all perceptions with a grain of salt. I'm always on the search to improve. On that note if we absorb the concept of being, than becoming won't be such a daunting task. Embrace the grain and always be hungry to challenge the norm. "We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves."-Dalai Lama

With Strength,

A-Thomp