Fruitful practice, and equally a fruitful life, is achieved by managing a harmony between two seeming opposites.
They are like the two wings of a bird which must be of equal size and strength, and work in coordination with one another.
Doing
The first quality is that of activity, masculine, an engagement.
We must put in the work, the discipline, the effort.
We must try as best we can in the moment to maintain our direction and to achieve our goals.
The yoga word for this is “abhyāsa”.
It develops aspects like stability, commitment, consistency and structure.
Being
The second is a passive, feminine quality, a receiving.
We must accept and surrender to what actually is and to what actually happens.
We honour whatever outcomes arise, recognising them as the reality of the moment, without grasping for specific results.
The yoga word for this is “vairāgyā’’.
It develops aspects such as flexibility, openness, tolerance, non-attachment and receptivity.
Doing without being results in rigidity and dogma, we become intransigent and fixed.
Being without doing lacks direction and purpose, we become slack and ineffective.
We are not in control of the results of our actions but we must, nevertheless, act.
A useful example of this in our practice, or daily life, might be that of a physical exercise regimen.
It is important and beneficial to have self-discipline, a structure, regularity, to commit, and so on.
It is also important to be flexible in it, to acknowledge, honour and allow for the circumstances of the particular moment.
Early mornings are usually a good time for such practices.
But if we need to skip a morning session or cut it shorter, we may be tired today or have other commitments etc, then we should accept this and not give ourselves a hard time for it.
The establishment of the doing comes first, the being follows and, in the final analysis, is where the deeper unfolding happens.
References;
Yoga sutras 1:12
abhyāsa-vairāgyābhyāṃ tan-nirodhaḥ
“Containing the mind requires the cultivation of both stability and openness”
trans. David Charlton & Ranju Roy
Amit Goswami, The Quantum Activist
“Do Be Do Be Do”