Weekly Quick Collage: Being Human

Being Human

The bottom line is: We must be working on arriving at the destination for which we were put on this planet. Yehuda Berg
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collage, 7.5 x 5.5 inches

The bottom line is: We must be working on arriving at the destination for which we were put on this planet. Yehuda Berg
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/destination_2.html

The bottom line is: We must be working on arriving at the destination for which we were put on this planet. Yehuda Berg
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/destination_2.html

The bottom line is: We must be working on arriving at the destination for which we were put on this planet. Yehuda Berg
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/destination_2.html

The bottom line is: We must be working on arriving at the destination for which we were put on this planet. Yehuda Berg
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/destination_2.html

Follow what you are genuinely passionate about and let that guide you to your destination. Diane Sawyer
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/destination_2.html

Lately, I started thinking about what it means to be human. It's one of those questions that just seems to bring up more questions than answers. If we look to our DNA to find the answer, we find that it is 98.4% identical to that of a chimpanzee.  In fact, some scientists believe that all life originated from the same one-celled organism, based on the fact that, "All species in all three domains share 23 universal proteins, though the proteins' DNA sequences—instructions written in the As, Cs, Gs, and Ts of DNA bases—differ slightly among the three domains." (All Species Evolved From Single Cell, Study Finds", by Ker Than, for National Geographic News). It seems clear that we are only one of the many life forms on this planet, and are somehow deeply connected to them all.  We are of this Earth.

"Experiencing our full humanity requires us to attenuate our self-centeredness by enfolding it within a much wider sense of self in which we experience genuine love and compassion for all beings, both living and non-living. There are many names for this wider, deeper self, which is our deepest level of consciousness. My preference is for Arne Naess’s term ecological self because it suggests that the wider self is not some insubstantial, ethereal intellectualization, but rather deeply rooted in the very materiality of our planet—in its teeming biodiversity, its ancient crumpled continents, its swirling atmosphere, and the depths and shallows of its lakes, rivers, and oceans. Thus, the ecological self is not only the human self—it is also the Self or soul of the world, the anima mundi, that awakens us to our full humanity when we know, palpably, in our very bones, that there is a selfhood far vaster than our own in which we live and have our being, and to which we are ultimately accountable. C.G. Jung succinctly gives us a taste of this when he says that 'At times I feel as if I am spread over the landscape and inside things, and am myself living in every tree, in the splashing of the waves, in the clouds and the animals that come and go, in the procession of the seasons.'" (What Does it Mean to be Human? by Stephan Harding)

So what makes humans different from our fellow beings? It was once widely accepted that only humans used language, though it now appears that that's not the case. Are we the only animals with self awareness? The only ones with emotions? It seems that's not true either; I'm not going to bore you with more scientific articles, but experiments appear to prove that elephants, dolphins, primates and some birds are self-aware, and many would argue that they indeed experience emotions.

 “It still hurts, but life is supposed to hurt. Too many people think life is supposed to be easy and perfect all the time. But there is always some hurt. It's part of being alive. You have to accept it's a piece that every single person carries. It's what makes us human.”
― Katie Kacvinski, Still point

I really didn't know where to begin to answer this question. Obviously, there are many answers, depending on one's focus and point of view.  In my research, I found that there really is no one theory that is generally agreed upon; rather, of course, it's more of a philosophical question.  Is it spiritual awareness that makes us human? Our ability to use symbols and think abstractly? To be creative? Our capacity to look at the big picture and see beyond ourselves?  Or is it the ability to think within the moral framework of "right" and "wrong"?

“Every age has its own way of mythmaking. Ancient Egypt had its myths, the Sumerians and the Assyrians, the Christians and the Muslims, the North and the South -- the style of creating myths always varies. What myths are being created as a shelter even in the chaotic atmosphere of today! Until doomsday humanity will create these shelters. What else could people do when they come from one darkness and travel to another? And with so much deprivation? Man remains man so long as he dreams.”
― Yasar Kamal

This whole exploration has left me with a lot to ponder. For me, I feel I can better express what I feel about being human visually than I can in words, because the whole question goes beyond words into a realm even more symbolic and abstract. I hope my ramblings and collage give you something to think about, or resonate with you in some way.






Best wishes and love to you all, my fellow humans, and to all beings that share this planet with us.