The Balance Between Being And Becoming
Isn’t getting this right exhausting at times?
Being
Being is about now. Who you are in this precise moment. With all your strengths, weaknesses and the stories you tell (to others and to yourself).
It is about how you show up for yourself and for your life. It is about how conscious and mindful you are about who you are and what you do.
It is about savoring the moment, noticing and being here and now. Being as perfect and as imperfect as you are.
Becoming
Becoming is about authenticity. It is about becoming more of yourself. It is about showing up in the world as the truest version of yourself. Which (I truly want to believe) happens to coincide with the best version of yourself (!).
We all have that version of yourself that we know exists and who is desperately waiting to be freed and ready to spread their wings.
We all grew up shaped by our experiences and the context, adapting to the needs and expectations of the world around us (our parents and teachers and caregivers, the societal norms, cultural context).
And then, at some point later in life, many of us feel as if there is more meant for you. We might feel that we have parts of us (long kept hidden) wanting to come out, we might be carrying unexplored dreams within.
It is then when we start searching, seeking, exploring. To some it happens earlier, to others later, but it does show up in some form or shape nearly always. I prefer the term mid-life awakening to mid-life crises cause it seems more of the first than the other.
The changes and the choices one makes are crises only to the others as they are used to experience you in some certain way. For the person in that season of change, it usually is all about becoming more authentic (regardless the way it manifests).
Oftentimes the inner pull of wanting to become more authentic version of yourself does not wait till mid-life. (The mid-life term is itself kind of subjective, no!?)
Balance
In the world where personal development and growth, wellness and wellbeing have been turned into money making machine, it is difficult to cut through the noise.
At any given moment you are told you are not enough, you have so many parts of you that need to be fixed. There are so many innovative and loud solutions out there, just find the right angle or the right problem you want to work on. Just do it!
Confusing, loud, overwhelming.. words that pop up in my mind. It also makes me think of not wanting to waste my present moment on worrying about the future. So how does one navigate all this?
I believe you have to look inward and not outward.
You have to slow down and reduce noise and listen. Listen to yourself.
Only you know the unique path you are on. Only you know what are the parts of you needing to grow and expand. Only you know what are the dreams you hold. And the most important, only you know your WHY.
I guess in the end the right way to go about balancing being and becoming has a lot to do with merging the two. Once you have clarity about who you need to become to be the purest most authentic version of yourself and to make your dreams come true, you can start taking steps in that direction.
You can, one step at a time, start embodying that future version of you here and now. Until.. one day the two of you are one.
