Being Human is O.K!

by Philip Sherman

Is being human a blessing or a curse for those on the spiritual path?

 

 

Many spiritual teachers and practices blame the human ego, heated passions of the heart, and the imperfect thoughts that we all think and feel as the source of all human suffering and pain. Essentially, as soon as we are born into the "world of form," we are, by default, found guilty of the crime known as the "fall from perfect grace." While certain spiritual practices might judge our present human condition as limited, filled with "sin," or illusionary, perhaps this supposed "imperfect" journey might just be part of a more incredibly perfect plan.

If the nature of being human, equipped with problematic brains, temperamental human egos, and bodies that continually break was such a cosmic crime, why would we have ever been born or put here in the first place? Has the infinite intelligence of the universe made a huge mistake? No, probably not, but perhaps we have, in thinking that we can fully understand the complete point and purpose of all of creation through the incredible, but still limited workings of our human brain.

 

What is this brain anyway? Is it indeed the totality of who we really are? A person can comfortably say, "I have a brain" without feeling unusually strange. Why then, does it feel so incredibly awkward and wrong to say, "I am a brain"?

Take a moment to test this out for yourself. Which sentence expresses a greater, deeper sense of who you really are?

 

1.  I have a brain.     2.  I am a brain.

 

The answer is obvious. We intuitively know that we have a brain, but we also naturally sense and feel that we are much more than just a spongy, wet, grey brain. This is the greater, deeper sense of the spiritual side of ourselves that also compels us to say, "I have a hand" rather than "I am a hand." The interesting question then becomes what is this "I" that seems to rest within ourselves, but also goes above, outside and far beyond ourselves?

 

Here are some images that I have used to help answer this question for myself. I see our body as a fantastic car of sorts that occasionally requires repair, sometimes needs new parts, and will, at some point, eventually break down. Our brain could be compared to this car's computer navigation system that, despite being good, is far from being perfect. This navigation system sometimes suggests questionable life roads that aren't always the best or most efficient for us. The driver could be seen as the grand, immortal aspect of who we really are - a force and awareness that quietly observes everything in a perfectly loving, non-judgmental way. This driver, or the higher essence of who we really are, uses this bodily "car" and mental navigation system in the form of a brain to travel around for a while during its time on the earth. It would, however, be very strange and just not true to say that this driver and the car or its advanced navigation system were one and the same.

This human driver is not any more limited to his or her mechanical car than the true essence of who we really are is simply limited to our present body or brain. Even though this mind and body that we have been physically gifted with to travel, experience, create, and explore, might be considered to be limited or imperfect by some, maybe everything that we presently think, have, do, and are, perfectly serves in a much higher and greater, infinite life plan. Perhaps the only imperfection is in the perfection of the entire process that we just can't presently see.

 

"God does not play dice with the universe."

~ Albert Einstein

 

 

Here then, are my 7 reasons why living in a world of supposed "imperfection" might just be the most perfect thing for us right now:

 

1.  Imperfection gives us more choices in life than perfection.

Living in imperfection can motivate and inspire us to grow and allow us to continually choose and create new things in our lives. Being or reaching ultimate perfection is, at least for me, the last thing I would personally want to achieve at this present moment in time. After reaching such a point of ultimate enlightenment and perfection, new growth, self-discovery, and the desire to understand even greater mysteries stops. At that point of reaching such ultimate perfection, there will be no more mysteries in life to be solved or pursued. Living in this sometimes challenging state of "imperfection" and "incompleteness" is, for right now, what I believe to be the primary driving energy and force that allows new life to be created and come into being. Choosing, creating, and experiencing all these new, and hopefully greater things over time in both ourselves and in this world, and possibly other worlds, might be one of the highest and greatest purposes of our life. It is said in many beliefs that we are made in the image and likeness of our creator. We have apparently been created and blessed with this existence that we presently have in order to become universal thinkers and creators in our own right.  

As strange as it might sound, a world of imperfection might offer infinitely more choices than a world of pure perfection. You can only have one perfect thing, otherwise it wouldn't be perfect. However, the variations of imperfection can go on into infinity. There might be only one perfect answer to a certain type of math problem, but the number of "wrong" answers could theoretically never cease. If we were all meant to be perfect, then we would all have to perfectly be the same. What an absolutely boring place such an absolutely perfect world would be. It is the many shades of color that give beauty to a painting; and the many perfect and imperfect aspects of all of us that give beauty and uniqueness to everyone in the world.

 

 

2.  The world and its people are probably not as bad or imperfect as what some might think.

The natural world is probably perfect in its creation and design, but perhaps our limited judgment and awareness of it is not. As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, "For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." A knife, for example, is neither "good" nor "bad." In the hands of a skilled surgeon it can save lives; but in the hands of a murderer it can kill. Material reality is simply what it is. The meaning to life is simply what we define it to be. How we live, act and grow while living on this planet is far more important than being overly concerned with whether the earth and its people are "perfect" or not. The best that we can strive for might be to live and act in a way that feels true and correct to the highest possible aspect of who we really think and consider ourselves to be. This can be difficult as we all define ourselves differently in our everyday human ways, but fortunately, we also share a lot of common aspects in the deeper sense of who we really are. A rose and a tulip might be different types of flowers, but they both instinctively know to grow towards the light of the sun. I also believe that most people, by their very nature as being human, can also universally distinguish and understand the general directions and distinctive feelings between "right" and "wrong." Unlike a flower, however, humans can freely choose and decide for themselves in which direction and way to live and grow.

 

Defining what is "good" or "bad" has its challenge, as we all have our own personal views, inclinations, personal programming and beliefs. While I cannot necessarily say what is "good" or "bad" for everybody, here are four questions that I ask myself when deciding whether something is good or bad for me.

 

What is "good" or "bad" for me?

1. Does this thought or action truly represent and feel in harmony with the higher part of who I really am?

2. If others were to speak or act in a similar way towards me as I am considering to speak or act towards others, would I feel that this is also just as equally kind, proper, and fair?   ("The Golden Rule" standard)

3. Will acting in this way not intentionally hurt, harm, or burden other people?

4. Is this thought or action of mine coming from a greater source of care and concern for the betterment of all, rather than a selfish wish to mainly benefit myself, or my "group?"

 

 

Creating standards, life rules and guidelines of some type will also help in creating and improving our overall quality of life. Wherever we are at in our life right now is most likely the result of whatever standards and rules we have set up for ourselves up to this point. If you really want to change your life from where it is at right now, start by first changing the rules, standards, and ways in which you act and see yourself.

 

"Before you act, listen.  Before you react, think.
Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.  Before you quit, try."

~ William Arthur Ward

 

 

3.  A healthy, "perfect" body is desired by all, but not always necessary for us to discover something even greater and more powerful from within.

I believe that we are all great spirits of consciousness experiencing this world through physical bodies that vary in degrees of physical health, strength, and age. If we are lucky, our body might not have many challenges for a while, but unfortunately, all human bodies will eventually break down. This is just a natural part of the physical world that we find ourselves in. While our body is important, it is not the totality of who we really are. Let's once again consider some questions similar to what I presented at the beginning of this blog.

 

Which feels more accurate and true?

1. I have a body.	2. I am a body.
1. I have a shirt.	2. I am a shirt.

 

I hope and assume that we would all choose number one in both cases. We all have these physical things, but our greater core essence is much more than simply those things which we can physically touch or see.

 

Here is an interesting scenario to consider. Let's take a young man, who is perfectly healthy, and lives at home with his wealthy family. He has no physical or economic struggles to speak of, but constantly complains that he is bored and not very happy or satisfied with life. Next, take a recently widowed older man who has also lost one of his arms due to an unfortunate accident a few years ago. In addition to this, he has also lost some of his hearing as well, and was forced to buy a hearing aid on his small retirement savings just a few weeks ago. You might think he should feel angry or sad, and consider his life situation to be somewhat unfortunate - and in a way, it actually is. If you were to ask him, however, how he feels about life in general, he might surprisingly respond that he feels lucky and grateful just to be alive, despite all that he has recently gone through. How could this older man who has lost so much, and is so greatly challenged in a physical sense right now, respond in such a surprising way? Shouldn't the young man who seems to have every blessing in the world, including his youth and material wealth, be much happier than this older man who has lost so much? Perhaps he should, but not necessarily so. Maybe, for example, that young man takes much from life and the world but gives little back in return; and maybe that older man finds great happiness and satisfaction in helping out others as a volunteer teen counselor right now. Wouldn’t it be funny, but in another way so perfect, if one day that young man, who has recently become deeply depressed and suicidal, were to find his way back to a healthy, normal way of life through the counseling and advice from that older, one-armed man?

 

What we have now or how much money we may make is not as important as who we are now and how we think about life and look upon ourselves. We shouldn’t ignore life’s challenging circumstances, but perhaps become more consciously aware of how we define, judge, perceive and use such circumstances in discovering and creating greater things within ourselves.

 

"The essential things in life are not seen with the eyes,
but with the heart."

~ Antoine de Saint Exupery

 

 

4. We are perfectly progressing in our own time and way, despite not always perfectly understanding the hows or whys along the way.

If a butterfly had a human mind, perhaps it would think that its initial stage of life as a lowly caterpillar was an incredible mistake, or simply a waste of time - not realizing that one day, it would be able to fly. Perhaps our life right now is not simply just a finite passing through time, but a small part of an infinitely much larger plan. It might be to our advantage to trust and listen to nature with our hearts just a little bit more; and to think and reason through our brain perhaps a little bit less. Our compass in life should be mainly directed and guided by the feelings of our heart rather than solely based upon seemingly safe, logical, or "foolproof” plans created within our head.

Perfection alone can't truly motivate us in life unless our goals and dreams are also empowered and aligned with the truth and feelings of our heart. We should trust more in what we feel and deeply know to be true rather than in what we might simply imagine or think to be correct.

 

Serenity Prayer 

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

~ Reinhold Niebuhr

 

5.  Living in an ever-changing world of opposites allows us to practice the art of free choice.

The reason we can appreciate warmer days is that we can also experience colder ones. We can understand what we like by comparing it with what we don't. While some might call such dualism an "imperfect" aspect of our physical world, I tend to look upon all of these differences simply as nature's way of offering us more choices. I am actually glad that I have the freedom to sometimes make mistakes and choose things that are not always the best or most practical for me. Think of how limited and boring such a perfect existence would be. It is this ability to be imperfect, but still substantially learn and grow, which makes working towards perfection all the more worthwhile and fun.

While we can freely choose whether to eat an apple or an orange, we might not have such freedom in situations where we have been unknowingly programmed to simply react, respond or habitually behave in some way. It is during these times when we are mentally sleepwalking, despite falsely thinking that we are awake, that things can quickly get out of control. A mind left unchecked can unexpectantly become like a wild machine on the loose, acting in strange ways and saying unintended things without consciously knowing or understanding why. Programs and habits have for a moment highjacked the mind. In certain activities such as playing sports, performing martial arts or even driving a car, such automatic responses might be a helpful or even a lifesaving thing; but simply reacting without deeper thinking in the more significant and important areas of our lives can lead us to mindlessly act in ways that we might regret later on. Slowing down just a little bit and acting with more consciousness can help us to live and interact with the world in ways more authentic and true to who we really are.

 

"To thine own self be true."

~ William Shakespeare

 

 

6. The more comfortable we are in accepting life's imperfection and uncertainty, the greater our capacity is for experiencing life's happiness and peace.

The only thing that is certain in life is that nothing is certain and things will always change. Understanding this in advance may not help lessen some of life's more painful moments, but at least help in more clearly understanding the rules of the game. The question you have to ask yourself is, "Does the joy in pursuing something greater than what I have or am right now outweigh the potential struggle or pain that may also come along the way?" This is the question and risk that we will all have to consider and face when seeking to experience or achieve anything greater than what we might consider to be "comfortable" or "normal" for us right now.

 

So, is taking such a risk with the chance of failure or pain really worth all the effort, fear and uncertainty that will naturally come along the way? Yes, I think it definitely is! This is the core essence of what truly living really means, to willingly face certain risks and fears, and despite not understanding why everything is the way that it is, still choose to boldly live and move on ahead.

At the end of my life, I would prefer to smile and laugh at my failed attempts and disappointments, than to feel frustration and regret in wondering what else I could have done, but was just too hesitant or afraid to try.

Living in a bold, imperfect way, filled with adventure, mistakes, uncertainty, and pain, while still remaining true to who you are is the only way to really live. Life is not about being perfect, but living in a way that is perfectly you.

 

 

7. We should see life's challenges and imperfections as opportunities to grow; and focus less upon judging the imperfections of the world, and more upon how we can positively change and improve ourselves.

Some spiritual teachings and new age philosophies advise us that in order to progress, we must transcend and move beyond the physical world of form. Of course it is important to set our sights higher, but we must also balance such grand visions with an adequate handling and control over whatever life challenges we might currently be facing right now.

If it were not for these present challenges, how could we advance and become something more. As strange as it may seem, it is through the nature of imperfection that we can develop and grow. The strongest weightlifters have typically trained with the heaviest weights and have willingly put themselves through the greatest amounts of pain. It is through this deliberate tearing down and subsequent re-building of their muscles that greater strength and size was gained. This "no pain, no gain” philosophy can be applied to all areas of life and personal growth. This is both the beauty and the burden of what we might see as the "imperfection" of life.

 

"There are no pains without gains."

~ Benjamin Franklin

 

If we just simply choose to escape, deny or give up on our daily challenges in life right now, how can we possible imagine or think that we will automatically by default become "all-knowing" and "enlightened" spiritual beings later on? I think we may all get to that "enlightened" stage one day, but if nature holds true to her own laws of development and growth, this higher state of awareness is something that we are also going to have to work for, wait for, and develop in our own unique way. It would serve no purpose nor even be rewarding or fun if total enlightenment was just simply handed to us on some grand, twinkling, cosmic plate.

 

Enjoy life for the mysterious thing that it is. Maybe there really is a perfection to all of this that we just can't presently see, not because life is imperfect, but because perhaps we are not yet able to perfectly see. Maybe the best thing we can do for now is to simply try our best and work with what we have, advancing step by step, and then patiently wait and see.

 

"If you take away a person’s struggle, you take away their victory.
It’s like pulling a caterpillar out of it’s cocoon before it’s time.
It will never develop into a butterfly."

~ Cameron C. Taylor