Celebrating freedom in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - photographed August 31, 2008.

Splashing and jumping in the water – meditating in the woods – hiking together in the mountains – playing games – laughing – painting one another’s faces – hugging one another – looking into each other’s eyes in trust – learning from each other – sharing and exchanging treasures generously – forgiving each other – preparing for and enjoying a feast – joining together in disaster preparation and recovery efforts – serving each other and working together – being victorious together – singing – dancing – telling stories … the wondrous gift of our humanity, this is who we all are and where we need to invest our energies, concerns, and works.   

Our life-giving humanity has been described in terms of needs and abilities by many people such as Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, and Ashley Montagu, an anthropologist. These descriptions include our needs and abilities to love and be loved, to sensitively and authentically relate to one another, to let life unfold by respecting the freedom and growth of others, to honestly accept ourselves for who we are, to appreciate our differences objectively, to have strong ethical standards, and to be concerned for the well-being of everyone. We also have tremendous capacities to be enthused, to be curious, to appreciate and be caught up in the wonder of life, to be spontaneous, to be playful, to be humorous, to be joyful, to show affection, to share laughter and tears, and to express gratitude. We have boundless growth abilities too. Today, step by step, we can overcome the failings of yesterday through our needs and abilities to organize, to communicate ideas, to be flexible, to be resilient, to be creative, to identify difficulties and find solutions, to be optimistic, to try new things, to be open minded, to listen to ones heart and grow through self-reflection, to think soundly, to listen to and trust in others, to grow within and beyond our own culture, to win together, and to celebrate wholeheartedly.    

This is our journey together. As Howard Thurmond, a theologian, has said, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” So let’s “Choose life!” with our whole heart and with our whole soul and with all our strength (see Deuteronomy 6:4 and 30:19). In the same full spirit, let’s “Choose our humanity!” by embracing visionary understandings of all that we perceive and all that is beyond us; deep, altruistic intentions in all that we are about; gentle, truthful, compassionate interactions and relationships between us; respectful, helpful, healing actions; life-giving livelihoods; wholesome, vigorous effort; alert, empathetic mindfulness; and hope-based, needs-based, empowering concentration (see the Eightfold Path of Buddhism). Let’s be responsible and answer our call to be fully human, alive, and free! Let’s, as a human family, get in our zone, find healing, and be victorious together!  

I am very interested in your thoughts about this. This may seem very theoretical but this is the first of a several posts that are heading toward something very practical. What do you think about humanity? Also what do you think about the call to love, the topic of our next post, or should I call it the love revolution? Please make comments here or send me your thoughts at denton2100@gmail.com. Thanks much!