How we spend our time

At first glance, seeing this, 

I thought it might depict two modes: 

Doing, and being. 

But the more I looked, 

 The more I began to chuckle, 

Because, like many people (Myself included),

 I was confusing the gathering of tools, 

The planning, the intention, 

With the actual work of doing. 

It’s really not enough to make a list, 

Or to add another task to an existing list: 

We need to actually do the work: 

To vacuum, dust, or wash the floors; 

To write that letter to your congressman; 

To add another chapter to your book; 

To weed the garden, shovel snow; 

To pay that debt you owe or call your mom — 

Whatever the task, it will not be accomplished 

By accumulating lists, or plans, how-to books, 

 The right clothes, or the best tools, 

Or imagining what rewards you might receive: 

None of that is either being or doing, 

And yet much of that is how we spend our time…