To do or not to do?

It’s 3am and I’m awake. My mind has kicked in. The To Do list starts on its endless loop and I tick off the things to be done. It flashes insistently like the green man at the pedestrian crossing. Go, go now, hurry, he says.

Perhaps this is just how my mind works when I’m stressed, but I suspect that some of you may experience similar night thoughts. No longer is the question ‘to be or not to be’[1] but rather ‘to do or not to do’. We are defined by what we do and how much we do.

But workfulness is more than what we do. It is also who we are and who we want to be. Our fullness can also be measured in the fulfillment which we derive from work. Perhaps it is serving others, teaching others, acknowledging others, just listening justly.

Some people now have To Be lists to remind them how they want to be as they execute their To Do lists. Oh no, it’s 3.20am and my mind is now drawing up another list! But wait, while I seem no closer to sleep, I am now feeling different inside. The question of whether I can get it all done is replaced by whether I can be the best person I can be. I’m feeling warmer feelings about the role of work and my place as a peacemaker and encourager, rather than just a taskmaster. Wakefulness and workfulness is shifting to mindfulness. I’ve regained my perspective and I’m ready again to rest. Sleep well.

?Bruce Everett, Honorary Chaplain Brotherhood of St Laurence

[1] "To be, or not to be" is the opening phrase of a?soliloquy given by?Prince Hamlet?in?William Shakespeare's?play?Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1. In the speech, Hamlet contemplates death and?suicide, bemoaning the pain and unfairness of life but acknowledging that the alternative might be worse.?

?