I find it appropriate to write about being human on a day I am truly struggling with humanity. I am human after all (I know shocking – even to me) so why not talk about being human, making mistakes, treating people around me with respect, and making a positive influence in people’s lives. When you grow up in a small town like Chesterton Indiana which has some really great values and then move to a growing community like Valparaiso Indiana you wouldn’t think that I would have any struggles with being human at all.
All too often we look at punishing others around us for being imperfect. Many expect us to be perfect in every action and everything that we do. That just can’t happen and those that think that are not doing good things. The only thing we as humans can do perfectly is be imperfect. Those that punish or look for ways to punish others for being imperfect are not doing good things in their lives. They are doing the exact opposite of what makes us great at being human.
Being human when you think of it is a constant struggle. We make mistakes each and every day. Today as I sit back and think about items that I have struggled with in the past week that have made me realize my humanity are (in no particular order):
- Plumbing
- Yard work (snow shoveling, mowing, wee)
- Communication with other humans
- Workload
- Lose weight
- Improve my health
- Drinking coffee (specialty drink, with sugar, or just plain black)
- Hitting timelines (on time)
- Company growth (happiness of employees, adding customers, taking care of customers)
- Stress
The struggle for all of us is real and for each of us it is and will be different. There is no magical formula for dealing with it, there is no manual that can be found (unless you count countless blogs and YouTube videos), and we each have to find the solution and accept it ourselves.
After writing this short article, which is superseding the one I was going to post I feel better about my own personal struggle. I feel confident in what I am doing, that I will continue to push myself to be better, and I will keep the thoughts of how I treat others at the forefront of all of my thoughts. I have always joked it would be great to be a robot with no emotions, never making a mistake, and living forever. That takes away from my perfection at being imperfect. In the end, I think I would struggle more with being perfect than I do at being imperfect.
