Imagine ... Being

I am a big fan of the Substack “Big Think”. In March, during a period in which I was taking a deep dive into the benefits and dangers of AI, I read a contribution by Shai Tubali (The inner life we're trading away) who introduces us to neuroscientist Christof Koch, whose expertise is consciousness. The article brilliantly explores several topics within this sphere and one in particular caught my attention: an explanation of why reflective self-consciousness separates us from intelligent machines. It illustrates beautifully a theme that is close to my heart: “doing versus being”.

Our world celebrates doing. We're praised for productivity, rewarded for achievement, and measured by what we accomplish. As Koch observes, modern society has become so focused on action that we often overlook something far more fundamental: the simple experience of being alive. Eckhart Tolle (another favorite of mine) has been pointing to this distinction for decades. He reminds us that our value doesn't come from what we do, but from the awareness we bring to each moment. Doing has its place, but when our identity becomes fused with constant activity, we lose touch with the stillness from which clarity, creativity, and joy naturally arise.

Koch makes a similar distinction from the perspective of neuroscience. Intelligence, he argues, is the ability to learn, adapt, and solve problems. Consciousness is something entirely different—it's the felt experience of being. A machine may one day rival or surpass human intelligence, but that doesn't mean it experiences life. It may do, but it does not necessarily be. The same question is worth asking ourselves also. Are we so busy doing that we've forgotten how to be?

Being isn't laziness or passivity. It's the quiet awareness that notices a sunset, savors a conversation, feels gratitude, or simply breathes without rushing to the next task. Ironically, when we reconnect with being, our doing often becomes more intentional, more effective, and far less exhausting.

So I would like to invite you to practice the following today - or anytime this week: before moving to the next item on your to-do list, pause for just a moment. Notice your breath. Feel your feet on the ground. Look around without trying to improve anything. Nothing needs to happen for this moment to be complete.

That's the power of being.