Doing vs Having: A Podcast
Doing vs Having: A conversation with Donna Freeman
A couple of months ago I wrote about the benefits of experiencing life instead of buying it. If you missed it, you can read it here.The piece sparked the chance for me to reconnect with a long-lost yoga colleague, Donna Freeman. Donna has done incredible work through Yoga In My School, an initiative she founded to bring yoga to school-aged kids. From there, a teacher training program and a long-running podcast of the same name have grown out of the program.Donna reached out after reading my post to say the subject of doing vs having had been on her mind. Would I like to talk about it? As someone who never turns down the chance for a good conversation, I happily obliged.
Spoiler
Donna and I discussed the reasons we give ourselves for why we can't do something. (Funny how it's a lot easier to justify why we bought that fifth pair of boots or that new iPhone.) Favourite excuses include a lack of time or money. I know these traps well. I could write a book on these traps. The trick is to know when we're being, say, fiscally responsible and when we're falling prey to perfectionism. "I'll go on that trip when XYZ is in order." If we're not careful, we'll wake up to find ourselves 105 and housebound no closer to having XYZ figured out and having missed the chance to go on that trip.
Listen to my talk with Donna on Spotify.
Do the math
I recently calculated the number of years I had left to stay on pace with my 1-2 trips per year. Imagine my horror when I realized I only have 60 good fit and health years left to do my adventuring. Just kidding, that's a lie. No, I'm not giving you the real answer. The point I'm trying to make is that time is finite. When we frame our lives in this way, we realize that we don't have an endless number of years to do what we want to do.Your dreams may have nothing to do with travel. Yours could involve going back to school, changing careers, learning to fly, reaching out to an old friend, making amends with an estranged family member, starting to date again, coming out, coming clean, or any other number of possibilities. Whatever they are, follow them now.
Awareness versus Experience
In one of his recent blog posts, Seth Godin shares a powerfully simple message. Being aware of something can never compare with doing it. For example, until we sit our behinds on a cushion for 5, 10, or 30 mentally brutal minutes we can never fully understand meditation. We may understand it theoretically but without practicing meditation we can never fully 'get it'. What better way to figure out our core muscles aren't all they're cracked up to be? How else can we come to grips with our tendency to want to avoid idleness? Where better to learn how slooooowly time can move when we're not moving?It's better to play the sport than it is to watch it on TV. (No weekly Sunday Night Football for this girl, no sirree.) Tasting a wine trumps reading its tasting notes online. Engaging in a face-to-face conversation beats text any day, fun emojis notwithstanding.What are you aware of that you'd like to experience?Have you been putting off doing something that you can do today?Which steps can you take now to do that thing that you've always wanted to do?What excuses can you drop?Whatever it is, just do it.
Listen to my talk with Donna on Spotify.
---Listen to past episodes of Yoga in my School on Apple PodcastsPhoto credit: @rorytucker