What does it mean to be human being?

1. 73

   Darrell Robertsposted 11 years ago

   What does it mean to be human being?
   
   As I am getting more advanced in my age ( I never get old), I was pondering on what makes a person a human being?

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   JThomp42posted 11 years ago

   A good Human being? I would have to say Love, compassion, charity, and an actual caring need for you fellow Mankind.

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3. 61

   Jo_Goldsmith11posted 11 years ago

   The spirit is what moves the human flesh and bone. The question should be.." what does it mean to be a good spirit in an evil human being"?

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      Darrell Robertsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting question.  Since the spirit is pure, then I would say that the consciousness of the thoughts of the human being has been contaminated by lust anger and greed.

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      Jo_Goldsmith11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This is how I see it to be. The flesh is weak and has the ability to feel pain, lust and desires. The spirit is one in which observes, create and with the molecules of good gently as a feather touch another. Some have bad molecules which form in...

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4. 55

   whonunuwhoposted 11 years ago

   A bi-pedal walking, talking creature who thinks he or she, is the most intelligent form of life in the universe and probably is one of the dumbest. The thing that differentiates us from the lower case animals is the fact that we think, therefore we am, so to speak. We have managed, somehow to make it to the perimeter of the edge which defines the successful and survivors as opposed to the society that imploded and destroyed itself. Perhaps we will not become the statistical aforementioned people and actually achieve what our imaginations may lead us to, an advanced and highly technical sharing caring civilization that loves life and does everything it can to preserve the same for all species. This is my definition of true intelligence.

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5. 78

   calynbanaposted 11 years ago

   Being human means being weak, angry, vengeful, violent, hungry, thirsty, tempted, sinful, curious, ashamed, determined, growing, strong, realizing, finding meaning, submitting, realizing...we cannot do it alone. Realizing we can make a lot of money, we can learn a lot of things, we can buy a house, we can have a family, we can work the best job in the world. We can  buy whatever we can afford, we can help whoever we like. After all of this we may be happy temporarily but we will always want more. We crave meaning. Meaning that we as humans cannot obtain. So we turn to science, created by humans hoping it will give us explanation. It does, about the small things. But ultimately it does not give our lives meaning, or our suffering meaning. So we turn away from creation and look for a creator. This is another way of trusting ourselves to give us meaning...but we already realized we cannot do that. So we stop and realize that we shouldn't be looking for just any creator, we need to follow in the path of Frankenstein s monster and seek OUR creator. The funny thing is when we realize this, our creator has found us, the creator who has been looking for us all our lives. Just waiting for us to come out of our egotistical hiding place. When we do he introduces Himself as our God. Your God. And we ask Him what it means to be human. And He will tell us. Often we will run away and hide afterwards, alone once again. Sometimes we will decide to walk with Him. I hope to always walk with Him, I already realized I cannot do this alone, alone I have no meaning, alone I am just a pile of flesh and bones destined to rot. But on this walk I forget about my body, I am walking with Him in spirit. And spirit, that is what gives us our meaning.

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      Cristaleposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You seem to have this "life" stuff all figured out, and I am being ever so sincere. This clarifies so much in my head and explains why I have been feeling the way I have lately.

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   2. 61

      Jo_Goldsmith11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It appears after reading this insightful comment as to your beliefs of what it means to being human. I can only say it was a real pleasure reading your thoughts. You are so right about the need to *crave* things.  I would like to add more, but I cant

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   3. 53

      Norine Williamsposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      You got IT!
      
      ALL SPIRITUAL! 
      
      The ONLY THING that will quench that *craving* inside; that longing; that question "Who am I?" that emptiness, that search for fulfillment that we never find UNTIL we "forget about our body" & turn to HIM in SPIRIT!

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6. 88

   SidKempposted 11 years ago

   I feel that each human being is full of seeds - seeds of every thought, feeling, and action that anyone has ever done. And our lives are the consequences of the seeds we water.
   
   Or, to put it another way, all human beings are climbing a spiritual mountain, and we're all about equally far along. Perhaps Mahatma Gandhi was a half-step ahead and Hitler a half-step behind. Let us walk on, and not falter, and help our brothers and sisters on the way.
   
   The Spiritual lesson is endless, harmless, unconditional love. The Soul's lesson is to be true to ourselves, living creative lives, living lives of service, being a gift to the world exactly as we are.

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   1. 71

      Sarah Christinaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I love this answer!

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      SidKempposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, Sarah Christina - if so, you might enjoy some of my hubs on Zen and Healing, particularly the Zen Student Knows the Way Home.

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   edhanposted 11 years ago

   In human life, it is a process of learning the way of enlightenment. One may achieve within one cycle of life while others may take countless of rebirth. That is what I believe humans like us are going through in lessons of life.

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8. 66

   wingedcentaurposted 11 years ago

   Hi Darrell Roberts!
   
   The 'answer' to your question is relatively straightforward. What makes us human beings is the very act of asking the very question you asked, Darrell Roberts: 'What does it mean to be a human being?'
   
   As far as we know, no other animal on Earth does that. That is probably the very question that drives the biological sciences: We strive for the 'answer' to the questions (Who are we? and Why are we here?) by studying other life-forms. We distinguish ourselves relative to other animal species by, sort of, 'checking off' what we, human beings, are Not.
   
   We have all kinds of comparative natural sciences (anatomy, physiology, etc) to try to figure out differences and similarities between ourselves and others.
   
   The 'short answer,' then, is: Being a human being means always asking what we are and why we're here, and never arriving at satisfactory answers.

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   1. 73

      Darrell Robertsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Wingedcentaur, thank you for your response. I was thinking along those lines.  I would include the ability to build complex civilizations by manipulating material nature.  Best wishes Winged centaur!

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9. 90

   ChitrangadaSharanposted 11 years ago

   It means ' Being Human'---------
   You are  kind and compassionate, happy and truthful, when you are a child.
   As you grow up , you are faced with the hard facts of life. You might not be as kind, as truthful and as happy, as you were earlier in your childhood.
   Even after encountering the adversaries and challenges of life, you are still kind, compassionate, truthful, then you are a true, 'Human Being.'

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   1. 71

      Sarah Christinaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I would agree with you except that in my experience, I have encountered many children (and some very young almost babies still) exhibit a total lack of compassion, are angry or depressed and dishonest. I would explain further but don't have the space

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10. 60

    OneFineG467posted 11 years ago

    
    
    There is some inbuilt mechanisim within our concious that tells us to recogonize what is human within us and to see human in everyone therefore our action is controlled by us to act human or not....it should be so ...otherwise the world would have been out of controll than what it is today..when someone displaying an act of cruelty you can visibily see that all human qualities have dried within him or her its something like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. when you see your friendly neighbour you stop to smile and wave your hand.. does putting a gruffy face gives an impression of a human being.

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       SidKempposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       your wonderful image supports your comment. One unconscious sign we read that helps us sense humanity and emotional health in another is the presence of symmetry, especially in the face.

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       OneFineG467posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you SidKemp : )

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11. 71

    Sarah Christinaposted 11 years ago

    Being human means realizing your full potential. We, as humans, have the unique choice (as compared to other beings on this planet) to be whatever we want to be. To make the world whatever we choose to make it. Only we have this potential. For example, humans can choose whether or not to enhance the quality of life on this planet and share the resources, or we can choose to horde the resources and be destructive/violent towards others. We can choose to be predators, or prey. We can choose to be parasites to the planet or have a symbiotic relationship with the planet. We can choose to educate ourselves, seek knowledge and spirituality, or we can choose to do nothing at all. The choice is ours. So, as human beings, how do we want to define ourselves? What amazes me, is that after all this time, humans still can't agree that all humans are human. We are all born human, with generally the same amount of potential (although some more than others), so why is it that many humans treat others as if they are sub-humans? We all feel the same emotions and are created the same way. If we could only first agree that everyone that is human is actually human, then we might actually make some progress as a race. So, I guess my answer is, what makes a human being is based on our actions. We are defined by and become whatever we choose to be.

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12. 70

    Damodar Bashyalposted 11 years ago

    love and be loved! jaya baba bholenath!!!

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13. 51

    muse ivoryposted 8 years ago

    asking that question.
    that question is what makes you human.

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14. 53

    Norine Williamsposted 6 years ago

    THINKING we're smarter than GOD! 
    
    That wraps it up in a nutshell! 
    
    lol

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