Most of us begin life in a check-the-box world. We work hard to define ourselves in terms of external expectations. We are good kids; we listen to our parents; we respect our teachers; we make good friends, form loving families, believe in the accepted notion of God, advance in our careers, and strive for financial security. But after we check off all the boxes, we question our own creation, the very person we have become. David Brooks refers to this phase as having reached the peak of the first mountain.

Standing water, no matter how clear, eventually stagnates. The same thing occurs when we are defined by our career, our attachments, and our political beliefs. We thereby become little more than a reflection of that which society expects. The result is stagnation, no matter how successful we may appear to the outside world.

But there is a different way to live, a second mountain to climb. That second mountain is the transformation from mere being to becoming, from taking to giving, from a static life to a dynamic life. 

A dynamic life is a work in progress, allowing us to change and grow. It is the difference between the experience of life in terms of a journey versus a destination, between our existence as a curious traveler versus an entitled tourist. The evolution of oneself from a mere physical embodiment, to one who is an emotional, intellectual, and eventually a spiritual being defines what it means to be fully alive in the present.

Socrates’ greatest advice was “Know Thy-Self.” So let’s ponder the question: how should we live a life where the Self changes from one moment to the next? How do we evolve from being to becoming?!