I’ve been immersed in a dance with Being and Doing for a number of years now. When Being is leading, Doing follows gracefully, and everything flows in perfect harmony, effortlessly.
However, sometimes Doing wants to take the lead, and when that happens, the energy changes, gradually, but radically. Initially, Being tries to follow Doing as graciously as when the roles were reversed, but pretty soon Doing is taking up more and more space, seemingly forgetting about Being. What was once a beautiful symbiotic partner dance has turned into a solo performance that no longer feels graceful and effortless, but heavy and clunky.
Being stands at the sideline, ready to join in again and take back the lead, but Doing is caught up in his own world. He’s so busy carrying the whole dance on his own, he doesn’t even notice Being anymore.
After a while he starts to feel tired, but it still doesn’t occur to him to let Being back in to support him. He needs to keep going, keep going, keep going. Only when he’s lying on the floor exhausted, not able to get up on his own, does he accept the hand that had been extended by Being this whole time, allowing her to help him get back up.
She takes over the dance, supporting him in a way that nobody else could ever support him, and he remembers the magic that happens when he lets her lead their dance.
“When you argue with reality, you lose - but only always.” - Byron Katie