WHAT WE CAN LEARN (2ND PART)
In the first part of this article published a few weeks back,
I stated that we, humans, have not been listening to the teachings that animals
have been given us throughout time and that, in the end, they are not really
that different from us in terms of body, mind, emotions, complex reasoning and
language, etc. There are two questions that remain to be answered: what are
some of these teachings and are there any differences that set humans
apart, uniquely, from all other animals? Let’s start with just a few of the
many lessons that animals have for us.
Animals, by their very nature, live focused on the moment, in
the here and now, while we, as humans, far too often are distracted by thoughts
and live focused on the past and future. They are connected, alert and
attentive to their senses and everything around them, responding to cues about
the world, ensuring their survival by living off, and with, one another, and
maintaining balanced ecosystems around them; while we have lost these
connections and continue losing them as we move away from nature with the idea
of becoming more ‘civilized.’ Because of this disconnection with nature and everything,
we are destroying the ecosystems, the planet and, in the end, ourselves.
Animals are focused on what is important while most of us are
disorganized and focused on trivial, and sometimes meaningless, pursuits most
of the time. They express themselves verbally and through actions, postures,
and moods while we ignore most of these cues and rely specifically on words,
neglecting most of the time to consider other ways to express our inner world
(bogged down by our own words and/or the words of others). They take time to
rest when needed while we fill out our days with activities and fail to take
time to rest, reflect and meditate.
Animals do not take life too seriously, playing, resting,
eating, etc. as they want while we take life too seriously and usually have no
time for anything. They do not have any sense of right or wrong, good or bad,
black or white, etc. while we get caught up in the polarity of life all the
time. Basically, we are not able to accept things as they are, as they are
presented to us, but instead, we have to judge them and place them into some
meaningless categories. They live within their means and do not overindulge nor
do they cause unnecessary destruction to their environment, while we do
completely the opposite.
While animals, certainly, suffer grief, misfortune, and
misery, they move past them with greater poise than we humans often do. The
continuity of their lives takes precedence over reliving the past. We see this
often after a gazelle, zebra, or buffalo is attacked by a tiger or lion. Minutes
after, they are eating as if nothing happened. We, on the other hand, often get
caught up in replaying and reliving past words and experiences, which, for
many, scar their entire lives. Finally, animals give and share unconditional
love regardless of how bad we have treated them sometimes, while we humans usually
measure everything and make it conditional based on numerous external variables.
As you can see in just a few of the many lessons we have from
animals, they have a lot to teach us. In fact, some of the best lessons in
life do not always come from humans! Now, let’s move on to the next item in
the agenda: are there any differences that set humans apart, uniquely,
from all other animals? As we have seen throughout this document,
there are not really major differences between us and them, at least so far. The
only difference might reside in the degree of evolution, or more specifically,
in the degree that our nervous system has developed.
It is true that by some unexplained reason, the human nervous
system, including the brain, has developed quite fast in a relatively short
time compared to other species, helping us improve our lives considerably, but
this fact does not make us superior or better. To the contrary, being a little
more evolved should make us more understanding, compassionate, and loving with
other species, with nature in general…with each other. We do not use and/or
abuse a child just because he/she is not as capable or as smart as an adult. To
the contrary, we love and cherish them for what they are. We celebrate life
when we see them because they are the true manifestation of creation, of
purity.
We know that ‘our brain, and more specifically our mind, is
very powerful, but nobody really knows how powerful it is, not even
scientists.’ So, we have been given this powerful tool with no user’s
manual and no education on how to use it and how to work with it. We do not
even really know how it works. Once you realize that, the result is obvious: it
can only be an accident. If you are given a very advanced device and you do not
know how it works and how to use it, more than likely, dealing with it will be
just a mess, an accident. This is what is happening to us in our lives with our
mind.
In other words, our minds are working against us most of
the time and we do not realize it. Why? Because we are not aware of the problem
in most cases, because it is our mind and we think it is fine, and because we
are all suffering from the same issue. Just think about this, most human beings
have been building a personality since an early age, filled with things like a self-image,
a status, identifications, insecurities (i.e., fear, resentment, envy, anger,
jealousy, etc.), beliefs, judgements, prejudices, etc., that are, basically,
self-created mental structures that are continually defining the human
behavior (thoughts, actions, and emotions), that have nothing to do with
reality, and that, often, are counterproductive to their well-being.
There is only one area in which that degree of
difference, of evolution, can make quite a difference and that is in the area
of ‘self-awareness.’ Although animals seem to have some sense of
self-awareness, we humans are completely self-aware, giving us our individuality
and free will. However, due to our continuous need to be busy and distracted
at all times, most humans are not really aware of themselves most of the time…and
worse, most of their lives.
This awareness is essential to open doors that are not
available to any of the other species, the doors to the inner self and to other
dimensions not available through our sensorial organs and/or our intelligence.
Therefore, we all have a choice: we can be born, grow up, work, reproduce and
die like any other animal or we can transcend this biology and move into higher
states of being. Either one is fine, but the latter one will allow you to
experience things that are impossible to experience with the first choice. You
either realize that now or you will when you die! Your choice!
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Author: Maurice Correa
Website: pathtoone.com
Blog: p2oblog.blogspot.com
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