Have you ever found yourself comparing the human race to the animal species. People often find it difficult to understand who they are if they don’t have someone to compare themselves with.
Although humans are quite distinct from animals we do share many biological similarities and social behaviors such as communication, group living, mating rituals, parental care and I’m sure many other behaviors.
Human social behavior is complex and diverse. They include cultural practices, verbal and non-verbal communication, social structures with family units, friendships, communities and societies. Human social behaviors, unlike that of animals, are influenced by a combination of biological, psychological and cultural factors that makes human life the unique experience that it is.
Getting to know ourselves takes time and effort and is less likely to be successfully done if we try to achieve it by means of comparison. Humans are beings, we have a spiritual component, advanced cognitive abilities and self-awareness. Humans have reached technological advancement not observed by the animal kingdom.
Human beings have personality traits, a disposition, knowledge, skills, abilities or giftedness and experiences that can be reflected on and learnt from if desired and character development. We have a sense of humor, an imagination, a psyche, artistic expression, wisdom, analytical thinking, an inner child, self-doubt, identity crisis, we compose music and write books. Humans have a metaphysical understanding of life and themselves as part of the universe. We have an intuition or gut feeling. Our abilities, skills and knowledge are found in different degrees in each person and therefore has to be developed so that we can live a balanced psychological, emotional, spiritual and intellectual life.
Human beings live in a complex social structure with an economic system, a legal system, education system, transport system, we invent and discover objects and ways in which to improve our living conditions (we discovered and use electricity). Human life has evolved over time – the rapid advancement of technology is not the only example but the most obvious one we are facing at the moment. Humans have a work and home life.
We are human beings, humankind and have a human spirit. We have a part of ourselves that is primitive and a part that is highly intelligent. We have a conscious and a subconscious mind. We can be honest and dishonest with ourselves and with others. We can change and transform our habits. Humans can be content with life or have feelings of discontentment. Sometimes we respond to situations in ways that we think of as primal and primitive. I’m sure that doesn’t mean we regress into animals but rather that we respond from our most basic survival needs. Our responses may be instinctive, automatic and immediate for example the fight, flight or freeze reactions to danger, seeking food and shelter, forming social bonds for protection and displaying territorial behaviors. As the human collective there has been stages of evolutionary change and growth as we adapt to the increasing challenges we face, we have an evolutionary history.
However cute and adorable it is to see animals mirroring very human behaviors animals belong to the animals kingdom. And, humans are beings. We all have our own North star that guides our human spirit. The choice is an individual and personal one – to acknowledge and follow your inner wisdom and be at peace.
All opinions expressed herein are my own – researched and studied. My wish is that you find it interesting and that at the same time it serves you as you make the choices you need to make to be the person you’re meant to be.
Supporting your journey, as you map your future.
Thank you for your interest in Life Coaching.
Desiree
Leave a Reply