You may have heard the popular quote from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.” Given how easily we get lost in our “to do” list, this saying is often used as a reminder that we are not human doings, but human beings.
But it’s possible, even essential, to bring doing and being together as one thing, one experience, one practice. It is, after all, our one “wild and precious life” as Mary Oliver describes it, when we are paying bills, cooking dinner and meditating on retreat.
There is so much that needs to be done for the planet and its inhabitants, and it needs to be done with an astute mind, an open heart, generous presence and engaged action. How we are, the quality of being we embody, and what we do, can no longer be segregated.
So how do we live this way?
This question is what this site is all about, and there will be many posts with practices – supporting mental clarity, emotional health, spiritual depth, physical vitality, and sustainable lifestyles. I also invite you to add your personal practices as comments.
Those of you on the mover/shaker/activist end of the spectrum may need to find a meditative, restorative practice. Conventional activism is notorious for high stress levels and burnout among both paid and voluntary workers. Devoted yoginis and contemplatives may need to engage the world more heartily when you’re off your mat. And all of us can truly bridge mindfulness with activism. It requires discernment. This site will also shed light on important distinctions between passion and compulsion, fearlessness and recklessness, acceptance and resignation, and explore each person’s elusive boundary of giving called “enough.”
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