Embrace the Human Experience

I take the subway into Boston twice a week when my schedule is normal and not full of the things that keep me home. During that time, I think about many things. Sometimes I think about the book I'm reading or the book I'm writing. And other times I watch the people around me, noticing their appearance, describing for myself so I can use it later in a story.

The other day I was thinking about people in general and how many of them waste their time with pointless worries and concerns. I call them pointless because half of what we worry about never happen and so we waste energy worrying about nothing. I was thinking I had the makings of a poem you see when I realized that these people need to embrace the human experience.

The thought came and went and then I was left to ponder what is the human experience. And I answered myself: it is experiencing art and theatre and movies and a zillion other positive human activities the enrich our lives, such as learning new things, playing a game or a sport, and social gatherings of all kinds. The human experience is about exploring one's potential and interests to see where they will lead and not sit cloistered in front of the TV watching reality shows or posting on Facebook. (the irony here is that this post will end up on Facebook, but that's accidental and not because I put it there).

Indeed, the human experience is universal. It is experience shared by many, such as raising a child or owning a dog, or buying a house. And it is about helping others, giving of ourselves to the benefit of all.

Speaking for myself, I've done some of these things in past lives. I used to volunteer my time, for example. And I've certainly engaged in many activities that are universal, such as owning a dog, several in fact, and buying a house. But these days, I am more isolated that I probably should be. But I made that change so I could push my potential and write more. The experiment has been a partial success since my novels will start being published soon. But I think I can do more and I need to explore ways to make that happen.

And yet, as I read this post, I'm not sure I've communicated my point well at all. English can certainly be a blunt instrument for explaining complex ideas. But hopefully, you have a glimmer of what I'm talking about and you will embrace all the variety and diversity that you have access to. I know that I will try a little harder to do the same. Maybe if enough people do that, we can improve ourselves, help others, making our communities better, and connect with other people. Ultimately, I think connecting with others is the goal of the human experience because humans are social creatures. We tend to forget that what with all this technology. I think it might be time to rediscover just who we are and reconnect with ourselves and others.