To be and to become: Thoughts around the verbs of being well

One of the most beautiful and individually different verbs in any language is the verb 'to be'. It is a linguistic metaphor that celebrates and radically normalises difference, valiantly reclaiming our right to push against standards and norms in only a few letters and sounds.

The unique form of the verb 'to be' is apparent in its frequent, variable and flexible use. It holds adjectives and moves us through time and space; it provides a window into our emotions, our past, present and future selves. 'To be' is at the heart of our experiences, and our experiences are at the heart of who we are. Accepting and validating all the myriad different ways of being in and with the world further emphasises the importance of environments on the outcome of being well. 

As common as 'to be' is as an action, it is not a verb where we can enforce conformity. It's inherent divergence has come about over time and across history. In the same way, our everyday actions-repeated, lived, and experienced-are the fertile ground in which linguistic diversity has always flourished. Just as we accept without thinking the many forms of 'to be', we too can thrive, where and when there is acceptance and understanding for the strength that comes from diversity and the interweaving of many and multiple threads of being in creating a whole.

It is perhaps no accident that in English the verb to be also nestles within the verb 'to become'. In being our authentic selves, in spaces where we feel safe to do so, we can indeed become, and disrupt the enactment and performance of being that society so often dictates.

Follow A Labour of Moles