PERSONAL LIBERATION: The Absurd Human Condition

The Absurd Human Condition

You are not looked down on or belittled. These feelings are natural, part of the human condition. Look at the history of our species. When we were separate, isolated tribes, everywhere a question asked, and answered, similarly.

Why?

Humanity is obsessed with two things, ourselves, and symmetry. Think how people act around their pets. They talk, and act, as if talked to by them. Sometimes, a pet owner will speak in the "voice" of her pet. Likewise, as children on an idle summer day, we stared at the clouds and saw human faces, or other body parts.

Regarding symmetry, look at the great artwork of the ages, tile work of the Eastern Mediterranean, knot work of the Celts, the architecture of the Mahabodhi. Even the faces of beautiful people are more symmetrical than others. When looking for the answer to "why," (why do we exist, where did we come from, what is our purpose) images of beings with human personalities and desires and values appear. On a more basic level, the idea that a will or conscious force is behind ecological events is completely human.

We imagined that if there was a time before humanity then a non-human entity must be our creator. We reasoned that as landowner's and authoritarians ruled over commoners, then so must deities rule humans. These deities loved, hated, and reproduced, in the minds of early people, just as they and their neighbors did.

Modern People and Maslow

We are no longer separate, now all humanity is one family. We have shared our stories and found a common thread. The fear of the unknown and humanities self-absorption have created a series of religions and supernatural folk "wisdom." A perceptive thinker, Abraham Maslow, had recognized a hierarchy of human needs. Immediately above material needs is the need for security. One could elaborate that physical security comes before emotional and mental security. Emotional and mental security is the underpinning of our desire to answer the question of our réason d'etre.

Rationalize, Don't Conform

When a human is born, it has great potential for future deeds. Young humans are naturally curious, unfortunately, most adults discourage discovery and criticism. Either a moment comes in most lives where one is pressured to conform to meme complexes that explain the unobserved, or a desire for solace to the burning of an unanswered abstract question leads to the same. You may be tempted to continue to close your mind to questions and maintain status quo. Do not limit yourself or your potential. Great goals require courage; they are attainable. Do not be afraid of the logical answer in the absence of an objective one; do not except an easy answer as an excuse to avoid great deeds.

© Michael Mosher