THE Human

We don’t normally use the word human to refer to ourselves as part of the same species that inhabits this planet. The word human is mainly used in the biology textbooks and anatomy classes to describe our physical traits. The systems that make our body work, our organs, the heart, the brain, etc. We also use the word human to diminish ourselves, so we are not blame of being incapable, incorrect or mistaken. We take on the victimizing phrase, “I am only human”, to excuse ourselves from being faulty machines. We don’t really believe humans are that great. For most, humans are the weaklings of them all. The one species that cannot do any better, even when wanting to. And we keep sharing this concept and blaming our human condition for it. This is how we have come to think about the human nowadays. And within we are impeding ourselves from understanding what really being human is.

The synergy that keeps our bodies functioning, the five senses, and the whole exhibit of physical, mental and emotional capabilities that make us human, are nothing less than exceptional. Yet we take them as a given. We don’t think highly of these qualities because our concept of humanity has been conditioned in a deteriorating way. In our minds, being human is nothing to be proud of. And since is part of the human "nature”, there is nothing to do about it. It seems we aimed at being something else, better, fancier, just different from human because being human is not enough. It's too basic. We fail to see that without the understanding of this very basic concept, there is no moving forward. There is no future. The future depends ultimately on the human.

When we believe we are our careers, our jobs, our names, etc., we are denying our most basic truth. We are human. And we are here having a human experience. Being human is at the base of everything, or at least it should be. The rather simple tools we have been given that characterized our humanity are our capacities. And they can be developed and improved to help us understand this experience. We cannot become anything else or transcend anything if we don’t realize first what we are and why we are here. It needs to start with the human.

Enhancing our human capacities will help us realize that we are strong, determined, and capable beings that understand the power of being human as means to work as part of a bigger system, the humankind, with all the other humans in this human world, planet earth. If we reflect about this, and start sharing a narrative that uplift humanity, then we could be talking about a future where the human really takes the center of all. And wouldn't that be nice for us all? At the end, all we are is human. At least in this experience.