It was an interesting moment of understanding for me when I realized that in the culture we live in, in the language we speak, and in what we strive for we place a huge importance on “Being” that seems misguided. I realized that Being was put up on a pedestal, what one “Is” is deemed important, but it dawned on me that “Doing” is more important in reality. Life is a series of actions. One goes about life Doing various things, and Being is simply a product of Doing, but so many people strive to Be things and don’t think about what they actually need to Do.

Maybe life isn’t a state of Being, but a series of Doings. What are we Doing? We’re eating, we’re breathing, we’re living. These are things we Do. People are asked when they’re children what they want to Be when they grow up. And they think “I want to Be a firefighter”. Really? Do you want to fight fires or do you just want the esteem that comes from Being a firefighter? If its the latter, when you actually become a firefighter, you’re going to need to fight fires and you’d better enjoy Doing that. Do you want to Be a hero? Then Do heroic actions.

People form mental images of what they want to Be. They would Be proud to Be this or to Be that, but all of these states of Being are a series of Doings, these things that people want to Be involve Doing this or that action. Being requires Doing, and if you focus on the Being you might find out that you don’t enjoy putting all the work into Doing what is required to Be what you want to Be. People mostly want to Be certain things because they think it will satisfy them to Be this or that thing. But do they care about what needs to be Done? It seems so secondary, so distant from the ego-boost one gets from Being what one wants to Be. People are disappointed when they find that when they become something, it’s simply because they Do certain things. And when it comes to Doing these things they might Be very disappointed and find them unfulfilling.

There was an old recruiting slogan for the army in the USA, where they would say “Be all that you can Be in the army.” Really? Be all that you can Be? You want to Be a soldier, but do you want to Do what a soldier does, which is, to simplify things a bit, putting yourself in harm's way and also harming other people? Do you want to Do this? Is this what you signed up for, or did you sign up because you wanted to Be a soldier?

Heroism is all about Being, but Being a hero means Doing actions that people judge to Be heroic. People may try to Be a hero but find that there is much that is unheroic about what they Do, that it is mundane, or involves Doing things that are morally ambiguous or even shameful. Do you want to Be a police officer? That involves Doing the things involved in Being a police officer, and much of it is not going to Be what you thought it would Be when you were a kid who wanted to Be a cool guy with a gun and a badge.

Life is one action after another; it is much more satisfying to Do certain things than to Be something. Doing things accomplishes tasks, gets things Done that either have to be Done or that one wants to Do. Being something is not important, it is what one Does that matters. I can Be a soldier and Do things that are horrific. Would I Be a soldier? Yes, but I would have Done things that are disgraceful. The fact that one Is a soldier becomes far less important than what one Does when one Is a soldier, how successful one Is at Doing the things involved in Being a soldier.

In short, some people might care what you Are, but the discerning person cares what you Do: what actions are Done by you and what effect they have on the world. One can be a soldier or a police officer and Do terrible things. Are you any less of a police officer or soldier? Not really, but what you have Done would Be the harsh reality of the situation, and what you actually Are is just a mere title that is not really important in this life we live, in which we Do one thing after another.