“To be or not to be” is, apart from Scripture, one of the most known literary quotes of all time. While Ophelia watches Hamlet ponders existence. Surely all of us have considered “being.” We don’t remember being born because we were not there. Very rapidly as the months elapsed that baby assimilated quadrillions of stimuli, merged them with inherited endowments and a self emerged. We call that self “me” or “I.” Being has begun with all its positive and negative characteristics. The challenge that follows is to make the best “me” possible. We begin to practice the “fine art of being.” It is an art to be a quality person.
Quality does not happen by accident. Quality is honed and perfected. Quality is the state of eliminating as much of the negative as possible. The fine art of being is an awareness of our inner motives. It is the honesty to recognize I do not like someone because they are more talented than I, they are better looking than I, they are more charismatic than I, they are more popular than I. It is a thankfulness for the gifts of another without wanting to usurp them. It ultimately is the ability to stand before God recognizing that any hope I might have for eternity is to know eternity is a gift and nothing I have earned. This places me on even ground with all around me and there is a knowledge that I am no better than another, regardless of my education, my wealth, my religion, my race or my anything.
The fine art of being is the ability to enhance the being of others about us. We are here to serve. We are here to make each other better beings.
Written by Roger Bothwell on December 29, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org