Some people believe we are born into the world with a clean slate, while others believe our futures are set and stone the moment we are conceived. In Hinduism, they believe we are born with a predestination as long as you whole heartedly surrender to your God. The individual has no true power over what happens throughout their life course. To be human means to go through life with unanswered questions, and eventually answer them yourself when you've reached the highest point of greater knowledge. One needs to make mistakes, explore new places, have an underlying belief in everything, learn and do things outside their comfort zone, be good to others, and become one with the world itself.
Personally, I think we are all born with a clean slate and what we do in life is what creates our essential sense of being. We go through life as we please, surrounding ourselves with people who either fill a void or make us a better version of who we are. We as humans are seen and proven to be a very selfish species. We take what we want, and then we make sure it gets replaced with the next best thing. Depending on which way you take it that can either be a way of production or a set up for failure. Years ago, and even to this day in other cultures, people are surviving and thriving on minimal to no technology. In today's society you can tell how the advancements in technology has changed the human race. We are inevitably losing touch with what it means to be human.
Connections with other individuals are a vital aspect to being human. Without them we wouldn't know how to sympathize, show compassion or any other type of emotion. Emotion and feeling is the foundation of humans. We would basically just be a structure of bones and tissue walking around with no purpose or drives. Humans need a sense of purpose to keep them going.
To answer the question, "what does it mean to be human?" can be answered in so many different ways. Being human means jumping into life with no real direction or path to follow. You jump into it not knowing where you'll end up or who you'll become, but you hope to some higher power that it's a good place and you're a good person in the end of it all. The quote, "not all who wander are lost" fits well for this description. We need to make a bunch of mistakes, and fall on our butts to understand hard times in order to get back up and move forward from it. All of our unique personalities is what makes us who we are; they give us layered definition. To me, being humble, free spirited, and unique is what it means to be human. Accepting the fact that life is unpredictable and anything can happen in the split of a second, but with those three attributes we as humans are capable of overcoming anything.
This is a really interesting post. It's so well-written, and you cover loads of fascinating points. I would have liked to hear more about what you have to say about how technology has made us lose touch with our humanity! I like that you include a really vast spread of topics, instead of trying to concretely nail down what humanity is. I also love that you include your personal opinion, and that it's more about individuality than it is about universal human traits. I think that captures humanity really well. Overall, this is a really good post!!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post. Writing about other cultures and bringing it back to your thoughts on being born with a clean slate was a great way to engage the reader. I agree with you, I also think people are born with a clean slate. When someone is born you never know what they may set out to do. Connections with others I thought was another great point. You were right that with out connections we would be no where. They truly are vital. You did a great job writing this post!!
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