Humanist Thought of the Week

Facing life as a human

A new friend emailed me to express his views on Humanism. He said that he has been playing with the concept of humanity as opposed to spirituality. Meaning, he intends to face life as a human with all our flaws and abilities. The alternative is to hide and hope that some supernatural power will protect you. As he points out, you don’t need that. You are a human. You have all the skills you need to cope with life on your own. So stop being afraid and get out there and live.

Wrong practice yields right results

So, I’ve been learning tai chi.  Love it. What is most amazing to me is that it doesn’t matter what we learn. When we go home and practice it, we practice it totally wrong. And that turns out to be ok. Our teacher says we have to be exposed to a movement at least three times before we can begin to understand it. And he’s right. I can’t begin to recognize the right form until I’ve practiced the wrong form for a while. Only then can I learn how to tweak it to make it better. I guess what I am saying is that it’s ok to get things wrong sometimes.  It’s how we learn. As long as we are open to learning how to do it better.

Coming to terms with death

As the old saying goes, all parades end at the cemetery. Meaning - at some point, we’re all going to die. Accepting this reality isn’t depressing. It actually helps me appreciate the fact that right now, I’m alive. And that’s pretty amazing. I have no intention of wasting this opportunity. I realize that a lot of people are afraid of death. But in my experience, coming to terms with your own eventual death is what helps you feel the vibrancy of life in the present. My advice? Accept death and resolve to make the most of your life while you’re here.

Respect My Authoritay!

Got an email from an extreme individualist the other day. All I could think was that extreme individualism is just as stupid as extreme authoritarianism. While Humanism does emphasize individual autonomy, That doesn’t make us anti-authority. What is needed is a balance between the two. Admittedly, finding the right balance is hard But it is much better then blinding choosing an extreme to avoid thinking about the nuances. In this matter I refer to the authority of John Stuart Mill “In the conduct of human beings towards one another, it is necessary that general rules should for the most part be observed, in order that people know what to expect; but in each person’s own concerns, his spontaneity is entitled to free exercise.” “All errors which he is likely to commit against advice and warning are far outweighed by the evil of allowing others to constrain him to what they deem his good.” When balancing authoritarianism and individualism, Humanists prefer to err on the side of individualism.

Thwarting Satan

I recently got an email from a nice old man who was concerned for my soul. He wanted to warn me about Satan. What was unusual about the email is that in his very first sentence he managed to accurately describe Humanism. He said, “It sounds like your interests are with human concerns, not religion.” Yup, that pretty much sums it up. Why do I think being interested in human concerns is better? Well, from a practical standpoint it means that instead of cowering from Satan like this guy is, I’m busy trying to make the world a better place.