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But I AM Only Human

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“…But I Am Only Human..” Only?? Only Human, You Said??

Honey, listen…

Profound anger and fear don’t merely trip-wire a specific reaction. We are a lot complex than that. I mean, we do control and redirect emotions all the time. I would know. Historically I have often found myself being explosive in reaction just because I have experienced what I considered an ‘objectively bad experience’. But I am changing that, still a work in progress but changing it. You know why, because I have the ability and resource to make decisions on how I should and shouldn’t act.

What separates us from being categorized as just another animal? Morality. Without it, we are no more than an hyena seeking survival and gratification every instant and at all costs; or a cow on heat, mating simply because it’s horny. It’s only through morality that we transcend instinct and simple equations of learned response.

A wise woman once said, “ To be fully human and benefit maximally from life as an experience, we must get back to the 3 C’s: Character, Courage and Conscience.

Victimization has become absolution from any personal responsibility. Today, everyone is a product of causation. We do not acknowledge free will or responsibility.

One such popular excuse is “I am only human” as though our humanness qualifies instinctive, reflexive reactions to situations- I mean! What then differentiates us from tigers in the wild. Our being human shouldn’t be used to excuse us from wrongdoing arising from a lack of controlled behavior. If anything, being ‘human’ accords us a unique opportunity to use our mind and free will to act in ways that elevate us above the animal kingdom. Human beings have the ability and the inescapable requirement of making choices.

We do wrong by self indulging then justifying our actions after the fact to ourselves and others. We are not swift to effectively apply reason to emotion. We instead run on instinct/emotion and have become so good at it. We even have cover stories that narrate these cause-and-effect situations we find ourselves in. We have come to believe in these made-up explanations that in our minds, we are genuinely justified to act as irrationally as we so often do.

The world has become so dark, but there is always an explanation. Problem is, non of the explanations lean towards people taking personal responsibility. It’s always a cop with a code of conduct killing a civilian because he/she wasn’t ‘obedient’; yet there is a law that stipulates how such should be handled. It’s she was raped because she had dressed ‘inappropriately’. Is there not something wrong with the rapist; that the only explanation we can provide is ‘inappropriate dressing’ ? I cheated because my partner grew distant. What about your commitment to them? What then is the place of morals, ethics and humanity?

There’s always going to be a excuse I always say. Until you are introspective and are willing to look truth in the face and acknowledge those areas you are lacking in. A scapegoat will always be available, at your service. However if you genuinely want to maximize your entire human experience, check your character, listen to your conscience; resurrect it if it’s dead and have courage to do what you know you need to do, not just what you ‘feel’ like doing.

You are not ‘just human’. You are ‘Human’. Don’t trivialize that because there is nothing simple about being a human being.

Written by

Grace Muriuki.

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