being, doing, having: the journey is also the destiny

being. doing. having.

this is what i’m learning so far
as i journey through life.

the majority, however, choose a path
that is the opposite
of what i am learning:
having, doing, being.

first, they start with “having.”
they say, in effect:
“if i have enough wealth,
then i will be able to do
what i want to accomplish in life.”

second, they proceed with “doing.”
they say, “if i can do all the requirements
to attain a certain position, then
i will have power and freedom
to be the person i want to be.”

third, they focus on “being.”
they say, “i will be the person i want to be
if i can find the happiness and pleasure
this world can offer.”

the above path is the most popular approach.
i tried it, and it didn’t work for me.

why?

growing up with scarce resources,
i didn’t have much.
if i based what i can do
on what i did have,
i would not have done much.
if i were not able to do much, then
i could have not grown up into
the kind of the person i dreamed to be.

i say, it should be:
first, being.
second, doing.
third, having.

i will always start focusing on my “being”—
this is about who i am.
this is about character development.
this is about determining
the bases of my identity.
who am i?
where did i come from?
where am i going?

i will proceed by focusing on “doing”—
this is about what i can do.
this is about my career, my abilities,
my accomplishments, my occupation.

i will continue by focusing on “having”—
this is about the products of what i do.
this is the sum total of all the resources that
have been entrusted to me
as a steward-manager
of my time, talents, and treasures.

being determines doing;
doing determines having.
it’s not the other way around.

i haven’t achieved exactly
the dream i have
about the person i want to be.

but so far, i have been
enjoying the journey.
and the journey is as important
as the destination.

in the path of being, doing, and having,
the journey is also the destiny.