We live in a moment where contradictions are used to justify why many fit into a certain group while others close ranks in opposition. Something along these lines: “If I think this way, I logically cannot think that way, and that’s it!” This restricted view is directly linked to a culture that insists on telling us that “if something is right,” then everything else must be considered wrong.
This certainly has nothing to do with logic, since, no matter how much I consider a certain road to be the best, other people have the right to choose the paths they wish, whether they find them more pleasant, shorter, cheaper, or even more romantic. Furthermore, there is a growing supposed need to have things, whether objects, wealth, or fantastic stories. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with seeking or achieving accomplishments in life. For, unlike other living beings, humans exist to, going beyond the obvious, put into practice all the competencies that are attributed to them. The problem only arises when the obligation of success robs the person of their balance with themselves. Being balanced always depends on being supported by at least two points: knowledge and passion.
Passion enables sacrifice and action; and knowledge promotes transformations and controls the impulse of passion. Passion without knowledge creates fanatical people, while knowledge without passion leads humans to become legalistic, critical, and tedious beings.
Thus, if there is something we need to have, it is “knowledge” to structure our desires and passions. For a long time, I have been working with this existential question, and for this reason, I take this opportunity to make some considerations: what does it mean to be a human being? What characteristics mark this existence?
Notice that we are the only animal species that includes the verb “to be” in its own definition. In any environment we frequent, we hear people feeling the need to say they are “this or that” or that they bought “this or that” thing, making it evident their dissatisfaction with simply taking advantage of the opportunities of the moment for the development of relationships that are fruitful both for themselves and for the other people around them.
It almost seems that the conjugation of the verb “to live” is only possible in the presence of some kind of extraordinary personal story. This is the case for people who cannot stand going through a weekend without having to boast, loudly and clearly, about some heroic feat that marks their own existence. It is forgotten that what matters is to intervene in the environment and in the moment we live through actions, words of collaboration, and even respectful silence. How sad this need, or illness, to have to prove oneself at any and all costs.
I start from a clear concept. If “I am,” I need to demonstrate nothing. If I know how to swim, I swim. If I am a good professional, I work. If I am a good student, I study and achieve my goals. Thinking this way, a cat proves it is a cat by behaving as such and not by making speeches about its feline qualities.
What should suggest that being human must be to demonstrate, without great fanfare, one’s humanistic attributes. But do we remember what they are? In wanting so much to fly like birds, swim like fish, or reach the peaks of this or that “pseudosociety,” we tend to end up unable to identify our simple, real, and divine functions.
To be is not to have the obligation to show that one is.
GUILHERME DAVOLI
Psychologist, psychotherapist, professor, business and educational consultant, speaker, and writer.
www.guilhermedavoli.com.br