To be human is to err

      The question of  "what does it mean to be human" is one of the more difficult question humans can ask themselves.  It cannot be answered by a mere bout of concentration, and has sent many people into an existential crisis.  To find the answer we must look to our roots, we must look to what has turned us into humans.  The answer can hopefully be found somewhere in the evolution from the simple primate to the sophisticated homo sapiens that we are today.

     To say that erring is what made us human is wrong, but overcoming the fear of erring has allowed us to evolve.  From the first caveman to create fire by rubbing sticks together, to the young men and women working at mission control as we landed on the room, failure would surely end in disaster.  Did this stop us? No.  The prize has always had more upside than the consequences of failure.  This is what separates humans from all else, and what makes humans human.  We push the outer limit, we are never satisfied.  To fear the unknown would only inhibit our advancement as a species.  Our evolutionary path has brought us to the point where we can succeed past our wildest dreams.  We are ever-nearing the exploration of the deepest points in the oceans and the far reaches of interstellar space.  This is all due to our insatiable need to explore the unknown, and the courage to not fear the possibility of mistakes and failures.

     To reach our full potential for humanity is an interesting thought.  Could we have already missed it?  Could we have taken a wrong turn somewhere?  It is tough to say and we may never know.  It is obvious that there are parts of the human experience that hinder other equally important parts.  Could it be true that "our insistence on cognitive knowing may have already robbed us of some of our capacity for being human"?  I believe so.  Our focus on the intangibles in life has lessened our pursuit of the intangibles.  We have inherited a need to know instead of simply being able to believe in something.  The power of logic is starting to outweigh the power of faith.  While this has allowed the human race to explore new heights scientifically, it holds us down on a spiritual level.  We do not understand the earth as the Native Americans once did.  We are not as in tune with the natural ebb and flow as they were in the elder days.  I believe this hurts our maximum potential for being human.  Where one part of our humanity grows, another must diminish.  To reach our true potential, I believe both sides must be strong, but equal.  We must understand where we have come from, to know where we are going.