While it isn’t easy being a human being, being a human being is indeed your salvation.
“To err is human; to forgive, divine.”– Alexander Pope, 18th-century English poet Part of attaining your happiness with this life is to be mindful of not falling into the comparison trap. Whether it is with who you see on television, or for that matter, anyone you perceive as having the supposed trappings of success. If there is anyone that is worthy for you to compare yourself to, it would be you. You are on your very own pathway of life – just as everyone else is on theirs. Whether you put attention on it or not, you are moving forward through space and time, and that pathway will look one way if you are not deliberate, and it will look a different way if you are. That is a reasonable basis for comparison. Yes, it is difficult indeed being a human being, especially in an ever increasingly complex technological era. But it is in being human where our salvation lies. It can be argued that the most incredible thing observable in this universe is the human brain. What any of us can do because we possess such a remarkable thing is quite extraordinary, especially if and when we choose to live deliberately, and act on that choice. Because of being human, in spite of whatever setbacks we’ve experienced, regardless of our surroundings, we can at any moment make a decision to change the course of our pathway – or not. We live in an era where the knowledge for mastering our minds is strong and getting stronger, and is readily available for any of us to partake. Misery and disappointment does not have to be commonplace. We do not have to settle for loneliness, fear, and depression. Each of us is blessed with a brain that has within it the capacity to take us to fantastic places. That is what it means to be a human being. I’m only human – thank goodness!
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Being human is quite challenging – accepting that fact is a key to your pathway to happiness.
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”– Albert Einstein, Scientist I’m sure you get that it isn’t easy being human. But do you really ever think how truly complex being a human being is? Look at it from the following angle. Any of us could spend our entire life studying how the body works such as through Anatomy and Biology, and still have plenty about the body to learn. We could dedicate our entire career with studying how the mind works as through Psychology and still be perplexed with the nuances of human behavior. You and I could be immersed for decades with studying the complex interactions amongst people and still throw our arms up with frustration when we inevitably get disappointed by others. And yet we are made up of all those things, with our success and happiness tied to many factors, often complex. Could there really be any question as to the difficulty of being human? I point this out because too many of us in the privacy of our skulls despair at what we perceive have come about with our lives. We replay failed opportunities in our minds and become discouraged, with some of us wondering how come “I just can’t get it right.” It becomes easy for us to tag ourselves with the label of “loser.” To further compound that perception, the media we watch and read is flooded with images of seemingly “happy” people, breezing through life with a gleam in their eye, and any problems that might pop up are promised to be solved right after the next commercial break. With much societal focus on “celebrity” status, and within that aforementioned privacy of our minds, in comparison to all we see, it isn’t surprising at all, and rather sad, that so many of us feel rather flat. But none of us need be stuck with that perspective. Fortunately, being human, with all its built-in challenges, is also the source of our salvation. The next post will explore a philosophical and practical approach to that salvation. |
AuthorSteven Keifel PODCAST |