What Does It Mean To Just Be?



Growing up of a mixed Asian and White background, living…
Just be quiet. Just be still. Just be quiet. Just be still. Just listen to me. Just listen to them. Just do as they say. Just follow them. Just be as they say.
Can we take a minute a moment to just be?
Be our body, be our mind, be our soul.
This moment was given to me. It’s my birthright.
The world had me wrap my mind up worried, war-ridden mind, war-ridden world.
The world had me analyze my past, part of me, a part that’s gone.
The world told me it’s out there, not in front of me, not within me.
The world told me no one cares for me; no one is out there.
The world made me hide, told me I can’t be seen.
The world made me feel like I didn’t belong if I didn’t fit in.
What does it mean to just be?
Female, lady, woman, girl, daughter, wife, mother, and all the other titles dropped on me. Which do I be? When do I be? How do I be?
So how can I be?
When I am not given the time.
When my voice isn’t heard.
When I’m collapsed on the floor.
When I still live in the past.
When I’ve been dragged along with lies.
When I’m told, love is out there.
And when I’m told no one cares.
None of the above, I am none of the above. I am me, I am We. We are mind, body, and soul.
And we are here just as much as the air, fire, water, earth, and love.
Me, We, we are one, but yet none.
Be to just be, to be the water with my emotions, to be the tree I’ll still be standing, to be a rock I never hurt, or to be the sun forever brave.
To be a bud in spring soon ready to bloom. To be a leaf that’s withering away. To be a buttercup that is resilient. To be a bird that soars with trust in the air. To be the moon to give light in the dark. To be whole with my soul, mind, and body.
The world is the earth beneath my feet.
The world is the waves; that’s always complete.
The world is my home, forever love I can feel.
The world is my place, safe filled with peace.
The world has no time; life is endless.
The world sees right through me.
The world sees me for me.
The world is Me, We.
But ME? She can’t be. She can’t be a daughter. She can’t be a mother. She can’t be an icon. They are all just titles.
Titles with expectations. Titles that need representation. Titles that belong to another world.
They take Me away from being my body, from being my soul, from being my mind.
They take me away from my emotions. They take me away from my beliefs. They take me away from my truth. They take me away from just being Me, We, we are one, but yet none.
Just be, no titles to wear me out. Just be, no job to fulfill. Just be, no pulling me apart. Just be, to stop draining me. Just be, to stop me losing myself. Just be, to stop me from falling. Just be. So that I can just Be. Maybe then I can breathe.