Don't Worry, Be Grumpy

Are You a Human Being or a Human Going?

It is very rare to find a human being today. They are always going somewhere, hardly ever being here. That is why I call them “human goings.” We have lost the art of just being.

One weekend in my Buddhist temple, I was busy with administration work when an old friend asked me how things were going.

“I’m getting there,” I answered.

“Where is it that you are getting to?” he continued wisely.

I immediately got the point and stopped rushing around.

“You have caught me out,” I answered, a little ashamed. “I guess the only place I am getting to, rushing around like this, is an early grave!” We both smiled.

If you are one of those “human goings,” ask yourself, “Where am I going to? And when will I arrive, if ever?”

As for me, I’ve already arrived. I’ve made it to here, and I can now call myself a human being. “Here” is a very comfortable place. I recommend that everyone visit and stay a while, instead of always running away from here, perpetually going somewhere else.

Now, when my friends ask me how things are going, I reply, “I’m just being here!”