Must I do ‘Enough’ to earn the right ‘To BE’?

My missionary Elder Kevin Steed took this in Idaho

Earning the right.

“I have to get xxxxx done, and THEN, I can enjoy—(reading with my children, going fishing, reading a book, painting, writing or calling a friend. . . ) something that nourishes me.” 

I’ve felt like this.  I’ve given myself so many lists and must-dos and put in so much time trying to feel un-guilty about Being who I am, that I’m afraid that I’ve forgotten who that is.  I’m just beginning to remember.

As I age, I realize how unimportant all the ‘important’ things seem to be.
Is it really necessary to earn the right to be be?

Aren’t we much better off knowing what nourishes us, what our deepest convictions and most honorable selves are in line with, and then from that base. . . doing what items naturally flow out of them?

I’m not a new-age sort of fluffy, feely, individual that is unaware that one must make a living, must find ways to create income and safety, but I am one who has learned that sometimes we put too much energy and importance into things that perhaps, just perhaps, aren’t feeding, nourishing or enhancing our very deepest values or creating the life that we truly want and can embrace.  We can have both.

Consider being, and allowing that to create your to-do list rather than the other way around.