Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Being Human

Werewolf, Vampire, Ghost
Some of you may inadvertently expect that this post has to do with the "Being Human"  BBC Series.  Well honestly, whilst I find said TV series extremely interesting and rather funny, this post has nothing to do with it. Now that I think of it, it may be a good subject for another post.
Since I will be working pretty soon on a project that hopes to build and develop teams through shared values, I was creating a set of references and reading materials when I chanced upon this rather simple, yet eloquent piece (I am afraid the author is Anonymous). I honestly think it would be a damn shame not to share.  

Twelve Rules for Being Human

1. You will receive a body.
You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours the entire period.

2. You will learn lessons.
You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.
Growth is a process of trial and error: experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."

4. A lesson is repeated until learned.
A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end.
There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

6. "There" is no better than "here."
When your "there" has become a "here," you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."

7. Others are merely mirrors of you.
You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.

8. What you make of your life is up to you.
You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

9. Life is exactly what you think it is.
You create a life that matches your beliefs and expectations.

10. Your answers lie inside you.
The answers to life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

11. You will forget all this.

12. You can remember it whenever you want.
Now as I sit here, in the comfort of a place I call home, with the people most significant in my life, I mull about this simple list. The greatest epiphany I have about the essence of being human is compassion, empathy, acceptance and forgiveness.  
Our life's journey brings us different, sometimes strange encounters with other humans; and whether they are invited or uninvited, accepting or unaccepting, wittingly or unwittingly, we touch each other's souls and leave our own essences behind.  Several occasions I have thought about losing my faith in humanity because of the lack of being-ness.  Then I realise, the imperfections that I see, the disappointments including the frustrations, and the attendant pain I feel, are just subtle reminders of my being human. So I choose to keep the trust rather than deprive feeding my soul.



23 comments:

  1. I love the quote in the last picture. It's so true!

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  2. ~~~~Psycho Babbling,
    Ahhhh, that is the rub....
    being so damn human.
    Life is soooooo complex & difficult.
    Your list makes me uncomfortable ... although so much of it is true. Sometimes we don't want to hear the truth.. It hurts.
    You are deep & quite profound.

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  3. When i had to close my first business i said to my dad "i failed, i disappointed everyone" and he replied "you didn't fail, you learnt a lesson and you never disappointed me or anyone." My Dad is a superstar.

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  4. "compassion, empathy, acceptance and forgiveness"

    Great article psycho. I see my true self when I go to do something and I can't find someting I really need ( in and around the house I'm talking about) and I freak out.
    So, I wonder if dealing with, not supressing, but truly understanding being frustrated and coming to better terms with that emotion ( not only about losing things) isn't something I need to work on a little. On the other hand, I can say some pretty funny things at the peak of frustration and that peak is so intense that you can sense a touch of absurdity and humor underneath the anger and dissapointment of the frustration...but i f'ing hate spending time looking for stuff...and there ar a few things that i've never found in this house or maybe thrown away that still have me pissed off ! So, I guess i was thinking more about what gets to me on a daily basis but I like that list on being human :)

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  5. Number seven is so true, and I know I will use that. I am not much to believe in the spiritual, but I do believe in controlling your own "destiny".

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  6. Better, I cannot imagine how you must have felt. Leave it a dad to find the right words:D Superstar indeed!

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  7. Number 7 is quite right, we humans tend to draw closer to those who are like us and hate those who have qualities that we hate in ourselves. Odd.

    Thank you so much for sharing these rules to being human, they are a good reminder to us all.

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  8. Kirsty, you're a kindred spirit.
    Kim, on the contrary, life is easy, WE are so damn complex. And that is a painful truth.
    Better, like I said, since I have already lost my Dad, you think your rocking Dad is open for adoption? Kidding ok?
    Rivercat, it's bad enough to lose things. It's worse losing a loved one or a friend.
    Jamie - true, 7 and 8; hard to argue that.
    Ann - I like Rule Number 11 and 12. Just being human, I know that these rules are so true.

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  9. Psycho, this was a refreshing and enlightening look at the condition we call life. It kind of reminds me, though, of sitting through a great lecture, and thinking to myself, 'yes, that makes sense, and I'll remember it always,' but then when you really need it, you can't find it. So I know number 11 is true, but it takes a real time out sometimes to make number 12 a reality.
    Anyway thanks for that.

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  10. yeah my Dad is the kind of man i hope to be some day..

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  11. Great rules you were right to share. Every one contains a truth we sometimes have a hard time with but hey we are humans and we need to read this here and again to work them out
    Thanks for giving us this chance Psycho!

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  12. Psycho, I never you have lost your dad. You have referred to him many times, I know what he meant to you.

    On another note, we never really lose anyone.

    Your list is rocking. Sort of mirrors a lot of things I chanced upon as per my 'lessons' of life.

    And its really true, you will meet similar circumstances & similar set of 'problems' till you learn to face them. Then they will no longer be 'problems' and you will move on to your next lesson.

    Happy to have crossed your path someway in my journey and I am sure we have crossed paths many times before.

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  13. sorry to hear you lost your dad psycho. my dad passed away a couple weeks ago. we were all thinking he was going to be ok but had complictions from pnemonia i live far away and am still in denial about his death. it was not expected im one of eight kids and my sisters are really cool so we are together here at my place trying to make sense of it all

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  14. Drachma, it is a mighty privilege to have you read my post. Thank you.
    Marie, I don't think anybody said being human is easy. I reckon that's why a lot would prefer to behave less than human.
    Just Me - I think all little girls First Love would be their Daddies. There is not a single day that passes by that I don't think about him or miss him.
    River - I am so sorry for your loss. Maybe in time it will make some sense.

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  15. Thanks for sharing. I especially enjoyed number 6. The grass is always greener, isn't it?

    I know for me it is. I hate being human. I keep telling myself that in my next life I will come back as an oak tree.

    Don't ask. I don't know why my mind thinks the way it does.... ;o)

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  16. I just caught up with this post.
    The List is simple yet it is humbling.
    Number 8 and 9 is so true, may look easy but maybe the hardest challenge of being human. To own consequences of my actions sometimes make me so defensive. I think this list will be applicable until the day we achieve perfection. Not likely when one is still alive.

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  17. Number 7 was my personal favourite, and one that is the most underrated of 'em all.

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  18. I believe the 12 rules for being human are authored by Cherie Carter-Scott, from her book (1998) "If Life is a Game, These are the Rules".
    The rules circulated in email some time after the book was in print.

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  19. Thank you all for stopping by to read the List. It is a worthwhile share.
    And to Cherie Carter-Scott who authored the list, you have touched a lot of human lives. Thank you to the Blog author of Oak Square for sharing the book and the writer's name. Much appreciated.
    Stay well and keep being human y'all.

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  20. Love this! And I am sharing it if you would like to check it out.

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  21. I quite like these rules and I wish that Rule #11 weren't so true...

    -Barb the French Bean

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  22. my first time visiting this blog, after I read some article that was published as a whole is very interesting & nice

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