The State of Being

I’ve always enjoyed walking. The joy in taking walks lies in the surprises you see along the way. Sights you may never have seen, a beauty you may have missed, had you stayed indoors.

While spring is not my favorite season—autumn earns that title—it is an ideal time to notice Earth’s changes.

My recent walks have encountered crocuses and daffodils embellishing barren yards. Tender green shoots pushing skyward soon will reveal every hue of tulip. The transformation from browns to greens in the grass enlivens my spirit. Jade bejeweled willow branches, surrounding the pond, sway in the early spring breezes.

Loud, sharp, shrill cawing trills herald the crane’s parade. The pair regally ambulate their territory inside the park, as red-wing blackbirds warble back-up notes. Shy peepers croon the foundation for the concerto, while various songbirds, flitting from tree to tree, trill their contributions.

Of course, it’s not a perfect utopia. Geese pooped on the paved walkway and pieces of garbage gathered in the reeds banking the ponds.

Nature.

Every day, every walk is different.

One spring, when my children were much younger, we took the dog for a walk. As we approached the level, lower part of our driveway, flanked on either side by enormous pines, we could hear water trickling. After walking a few steps in the shadow of the massive pines, we paused to locate the source of the water flow. We discovered that it emanated from beneath the icy covering of our drive—a delightful discovery. We marveled and reveled in the pure beauty of that music as we traversed its length.

There is a beauty in simply being.

When I was finishing my bachelor’s degree and then moved on to graduate school, I worked full-time as a waitress while also attending school full-time. I remember back in those days, looking forward to my future in which I would be able to take some ‘me’ time, relax, and enjoy at least a small part of each day, particularly to connect with nature. The jobs I’ve had since graduating have left little time for those endeavors and past-times. The ‘to-do’ lists have always been long.

And that’s just it: doing.

Over the past few years, I feel I’ve become a human-doing versus a human being, and the result is one unhappy woman. Coming back to nature, making time to do that, has always felt a bit like coming home.

Our opportunity to make a lasting and significant change in our habits of awareness begins now. COVID-19 and the resulting restrictions on movement are an opportunity to reflect on our actions—the actions that make a difference to our planet. Our home.

I remind myself, again, to slow down. The typical, harried, frantic, hectic pace is not healthy for me. It’s not good for our planet. When we step back and honestly evaluate our needs, we find that they are few.

Food. Clothing. Shelter.

When we step back and reflect even more deeply, we realize that our needs for human connection surpass most, if not all, of our material possessions, and that the challenges of the hectic pace of American living leave us stressed, and anxious. Relationships, too, can be challenging, but I’m unsure whether there is a more meaningful endeavor.

I have read posts online proposing that we re-evaluate and carefully reflect as we move forward, to include only those components of life that are most important to us. And I couldn’t agree more.

A commercial or capitalist-oriented culture will condition us to spend. We buy things. More things equate to more time taking care of said things. More time taking care of things is time taken away from those we love, from activities that nourish, inspire, and rejuvenate us. The more we spend, the more we need to work. It is a never-ending cycle.

The tragedy of the lives we have lost during this pandemic is heartbreaking. Let’s learn to slow down to honor this loss of life by returning to our roots, responding to what is essential. Let us be unafraid in the presence of the deeper feelings of our humanity, to sit with the pain and grief. Let’s stop trying to fill the void in our lives with the addictions of consumption—whether it’s social media, food, gambling, shopping, or any other maladaptive strategy that inevitably leaves us feeling worse. Life is short. How will we spend this precious time?

Let us return to human ‘beings’ and turn away from the tendency to engage with life as human doings.