“To be or not to be, that is the question.” Isn’t that what Shakespeare always said? To be or not to be present? To be or not to be happy? Or, is it just, To BE!

To Be. To be content with one’s Self just as you are. That’s a tall order. Aren’t we always striving To Be better today from yesterday? Aren’t we always wanting To Be slimmer, healthier, smarter? What if we let go of that notion? What if we were okay just To Be?

I think there is something To Be said about just Being content. To let go of all the perceptions and expectations we have on ourselves. Some are placed on us early on by our parents and others by society and media as we continue through our lives. After a while, it’s hard to know what are our own beliefs and what are not.

What if we gave up comparing ourselves to others and just did what makes us happy? What if we gave up obsessing over the one to five pounds we gained or lost last week? What if we stopped!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve gained and lost thousands of pounds over my decades of living on this planet. I’ve done all kinds of diet plans: Atkins, Weight Watchers, Metabolic Research, State of Slim, and Maximize Living, to mention a few. All are good and at the end of the day we all know fruits and veggies are best for us and processed foods aren’t so healthy. And, at the end of the day we have to figure out what works for us. For me, I went vegan four years ago and am happy with my choice.

Even so, I can over-eat nuts and peanut butter with the best of them. And just because I’m vegan doesn’t mean that all vegan foods are created equal. There are processed vegan foods that aren’t as healthy as those that are straight from the ground.

The trick no matter what is To Be content. No matter what, to love one’s Self. To Be is purely To Be. No expectations. No comparisons. No judgements. To Be. To Be. To Be. To Be at peace.

Three ways to practice Being are:

#1 Breathing. Sitting quietly, (turn off everything electronic) and Be still. Notice your breath. Is it shallow or deep? Breathe in again inhaling through your nose and count to four. Exhale and count to eight. Just see if you can sit in the silence counting in for four and out for eight for five minutes.

#2 Empty your mind. While practicing the breathing (see above) check in with your mind. Are you thinking: what am I going to do today? What am I going to have for dinner? Does this person like me? Let go. Just try To Be still. The thoughts will still Be there after five minutes. All is well.

#3 Body. Are you holding tension in your body? Relax. Start at your feet (remember count to four as you inhale and 8 as you exhale) and work up to your calves, knees, thighs, hips, pelvis, stomach, ribs, torso, heart, shoulders, arms, hands, neck, head, ears, eyes. Let go. Breathe. These five minutes belong solely to you. Enjoy them.

I challenge you To Be at peace this week. Maybe keep yourself off the scale for an entire week or turn off the TV, radio and social media and online surfing for one minute, hour, day, and see if there’s any difference. Practice breathing, letting go of your thoughts and relaxing your body.

We were Beings long before we were Doers. So, let’s try an experiment and see if we can return to ourselves. Let’s soar into our greatness and try just To Be.