On being

I uncovered some of my old writings today, including this piece of adolescent philosophizing [not sure what had originally sparked these musings, but I was tickled to find thoughts that I didn't even know I'd recorded resonating with this transitional stage of my life] :

In On the Road, Jack Kerouac writes, "that last thing is what you can't get...nobody can get to that last thing.  We keep on living in hopes of catching it once for all."  To be human is to be--and that is a constant process.  To realize that we are never at a standstill is to accept that we are constantly faced with choices that move us in one direction or another.  As humans, we can all look at the world around us, but we have to choose to see what is really there.  To choose to see is to become aware of something outside of yourself--the all-encompassing humanity to which each and every one of us contributes.  The comfort of remaining self-centered or ego-centric is certainly a plausible option, but it is one that does not fully delve into the meaning found in that greater humanity.

The process of being brings struggle, as it necessarily involves both the darkness and the light.  But to write off some fulfillment of being as unattainable is to willingly disregard that what it means to be human can be based on what is within the reach of our actions--by our choice--rather than what is just outside of it.

To be human is to accept the potential inside yourself--through awareness of that all-encompassing humanity--and to act on it.  It is to be.  It is not just to look but to see.