How to Stop Doing and Just Be

If you have clicked into this post hoping to find the answer to this eternal question, you may be disappointed.  Because I definitely do not have this all figured out.  But I hope if I ponder it enough and perhaps pray about it, the answer will eventually become crystal clear.  There I go, thinking I can “do” my way to the answer!  I first entitled this piece “How to Stop Doing and Start Being”.  I even made the title into something to do….

Since I was a child, it seemed that I must always do something to receive attention or praise, to feel fulfilled or I was just an active kid who wanted to play and “do” sports or cheerleading or compete in horse shows.  I strived for good grades, boyfriends, honors, awards.  My sister has called me “goody two shoes” and, looking back, it was probably true.  Now that I am “retired” (if you can call having a part-time job, being a wellness coach, doing volunteer work that I love, facilitating classes, speaking to groups, writing blogs and being wife, mom and grandmother being retired), I have been contemplating what it would be like to just “be”.  Even as I am writing this, l am watching and listening to an old movie on TV!  Time out – turning that off right now.

The question of me “being” has come up multiple times in the recent past, suggested by friends, family, and spiritual advisors.  The sad fact is, I don’t know how to just “be.”  I am always looking for the next project, the next step, the next job, the next challenge, the next “thing” to do outside myself.    How to just “be”?  Up to now, I have relied unsuccessfully upon people and my own strength and reasoning to figure this out. I have tried meditation, retreats, read books and taken classes, so I can find the answer.  I know there is only one Source who really can help me solve this dilemma.  Whenever I am really stumped, I turn to scripture for help.

Surrender. Trust in the Lord.  How often have I heard this line from Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.”  Other variations of the verse.  Be still and know that I am.  Be still and know.  Be still.  Why is this so difficult?  “Be still before the Lord…,” Zechariah 2:13.  The Lord has made it clear in His word that He is just waiting for me to be quiet and listen.  Just like in 1 Samuel 3:9 when the Lord comes to Samuel and calls “Samuel, Samuel!!” and he replies “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”  Am I taking time to listen?  Not reading, not eating, not watching TV or checking e:mails and Facebook.  Or doing all these simultaneously.  I feel the longing to do so, Lord.  You know my heart.  If I am quiet and still, will you say “Jane, Jane!” and will I say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening?”  What might I hear if I am just being still before the Lord?  Maybe it will be a feeling of peace, joy, love and communion with Him.  Maybe it will be clear directions or words coming to me through the Spirit.  Please excuse me………Right now I am going to go sit in my reading corner for a bit and be still….

Jane Springer

Jane Springer is a certified Life, Wellness and Style Coach who assists women in taking care of themselves, in body, mind and spirit.  She coaches women who want to lose weight, avoid diabetes, and feel great. She also helps them thrive after divorce.  She also helps them to clear their closets of old clothes and outdated attitudes, so they can shine and feel confident.