You Are a Human Being, Not a Human Doing

One of my discoveries in my self-acceptance journey is that at the bottom of any feelings of discomfort around my body is always a question of worth.

The answer to this question can be tricky because we often feel like we need a way to measure it and while it’s good to have some physical manifestation of our impact in the world, I find that when I feel most effective is not necessarily when I work hard at it but rather when I do something that feels like an inspiration of the moment, which often comes as a total surprise.

Watching the new Disney movie Soul reminded me what inspired action is. In the movie, new souls come into the world from the “great before” but not before they get their “spark” that completes their entrance badge to earth.

To me the whole movie is about the question of whether our sense of worth comes from a specific purpose (what we do) as opposed to our own individual spark (who we are) and often what we end up doing in life is just a way for our spark to shine through, or as Joe Gardner, the main character in the movie and a talented musician says:

“The Music is just an excuse to bring out the you”.

Knowing that my sense of worth is not up for debate should not be a question but unfortunately I can’t say this is true. That’s why I find that having little ways to put my attention on my own spark is a good idea.

I recently discovered a new bed-time ritual of remembering how that spark manifested throughout the day and writing each individual manifestation on a separate sticky note. Those could include for example ordinary moments of effortless kindness. Sometimes I also write down ways that others are exhibiting kindness because being able to notice other’s sparks is just another way to notice my own spark.

I put these notes inside a big glass container and there I have a good visual of my spark. The visual is important because I have such a strong tendency to forget and because the question of worthiness often feels like an “all or nothing” one. It’s just nice to see how it accumulates.

Since the start of a new year is a good time to set some intentions, I invite you to join me in finding ways to notice and connect to your own spark and if you would like to share what you’ve already figured out around this, I would really love to hear.