Human Being

We are all human beings. I know this is universal knowledge; everyone knows they are a human being — breathing with their lungs, blood pumping in their hearts and brains — but do we know this, really? What does it mean to be a human being?

This world is built on the mindset that we all need to be doing something, making something of ourselves. But what if we already are something? Something intricate and magical — a marvel that no one, not even us, can understand fully? No matter how much people study and research the human body there will always be something that they don’t know. Psychologists study the brain, but they will never be able to be 100% certain how someone will react or what their favorite color will be when they’re thirty-two. Anatomists study the body, but they still haven’t found the cure for cancer (nor the direct causes, for that matter).

Human beings are complex. They form their own thoughts and opinions, each having their own desires and ideas. None is exactly like the other, yet we all have similarities. We each have our own tastes — in clothing, in music, in home design — and yet we all need the same nutrients, water, and sunlight in order to continue existing.

So why do we feel the need to make something of ourselves? I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to learn — growing and expanding our minds is a good thing as they haven’t been proven to have a max capacity — and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to work either. How else would we have food or water or anything? I’m simply stating that there is not a standard. Or, that there shouldn’t be. Who made this standard of living? That if you don’t have the mansion on the lake you haven’t done enough in your life to be labeled “successful”? Not that having a mansion on a lake is bad, and if you did work for it, good for you! I’m simply stating, that this standard of “living” has turned into a standard of “doing”. Doing more. Never doing enough.

Why not just be? Roll around in the grass, step into a creek barefoot, rescue the dogs on the street, give money to the people who are less fortunate than you and haven’t been given the same opportunities as you so that they may be able to do the same for someone else. Yes, work is good. Using your mind and your body to make your contribution to the world and place your footprint on this earth is a good thing. But make sure that you remain a human being, and not force yourself to be something that you are not.

We are intricately formed, designed, made, and this in and of itself is a beautiful thing.