What are human beings?

Every one of us probably has a pretty accurate idea, but accurate ideas aren’t always the first ones that come to us. Very rarely do we worry about what being human is. Instead we live our lives to try and be the ‘kind of people’ we want to. So, what’s the difference? What are we, and what do we make ourselves out to be? That is what I’m going to write about throughout a three-part post. To start, I want to address what we generally consider ourselves, because we are familiar with it. I’ll be working from the outside inward in that sense.

If you came across the words, “So tell me about yourself.”, what would you say? Before we go any further, I actually want you to address that, because it’s an integral part of improving your existence… No, really, get a piece of paper or virtual document and jot it down…

‘Finished? Good deal.’ We usually define who we are based on what we do, what we have, what we look like, what we like, and what we don’t. So, when you define ‘yourself’, what do you include- your job, your height, race, ethnicity, hobbies, kids, relationships, house, car, wealth, friends, enemies, political affiliation, social affiliation?

-“I’m an Emo. with two kids. I live in San Diego. I like coffee. I’m 5’7″ and Hispanic. I love Depeche Mode, The Cure, and Marilyn Manson. I’m a Democrat. I’m 29. I like the color black. I hate politicians”

-“I’m the CEO of a large corporation. I’m 56 and of German descent. I own three houses and two sports cars. I’m a Republican. I like to golf in my free time. I hate free-lovin hippies.”

I want you to consider what your appearance and social life really has to do with you. Do you honestly believe that they are who or what you are? We are not and cannot “be” our surroundings, physical features, or even actions. You are not the place you live. You are not possessions or money. You are not other people. You are not the bands, groups, or activities you associate with. You are not a height, weight, face, color, haircut, or clothing. So, you may say that our social selves aren’t ‘what’ we are, but ‘who’ we are. But what is a ‘who’ without a ‘what’? What do the effects of something matter if you don’t see and deal with the cause? ‘Not much, let’s put it that way.’ Well, what are we then, if we aren’t what we claim? I’ll get to that in another part of the post, and I’m sure you know the answer, but let’s keep examining what we assume to be.

So maybe you define yourself by your personality- ‘ you are creative, funny, outgoing, and hard-working.’- ‘you are logical, skeptical, cautious, and open-minded.’- ‘you are lazy, introverted, depressed, and cynical.’ Are those personality traits really who you are though? If your dog is lazy, he is still a dog. His, or your, laziness is just an effect of a cause. You see, we aren’t what we call ourselves. We are human, and will be for the rest of our lives.

If we define ourselves by our personality, likes, actions, and appearance, we don’t concern ourselves with where it comes from and why. What causes you to be sensitive, analytical, reclusive, happy, affectionate, compassionate, clingy, jealous, inconsiderate, or anything else? Why do you like cars, houses, possessions, groups, friends, activities? What lets you have the face and body you worry so much about? What causes you to drive, eat, breathe, wake up, walk, sit, talk, be intimate, or anything else?  Our social existence, physicality, and personality are what we consider ourselves to be. However, we are wrong, and once you understand the reason it makes perfect sense…