Be very, very afraid… what you’re about to read is meant to scare you back into a reality that seems to have lost its intended definition.

“Human nature” is on the prowl … and it’s coming to, or is likely already in, a neighborhood near you.  It creeps up on you and before you know it, you’re acting just like everyone else.  It might just infiltrate your life and gnaw at every fiber of your being to the point of asking those rhetorical conundrum “why” questions.  Why is “real life” not like what real life was meant to be?  Why does it seem like, more often than not, evil wins out over good?  Why can’t people just be open and honest with loving-kindness in their communication?  Why are so many behaviors and actions laden with underlying ulterior motives and hidden agendas? 

The stock answer to and the scariest part of the answer to all those questions?  Because … well … because we’re “human” and well … that’s just “human nature”!

Scarier still, if it can possibly get any scarier, society has come to accept this as “our” behavior; that being “human” and ‘human nature” has somehow been adopted as viable excuses for ill-mannered, inconsiderate, disrespectful behavior and communication.  Somewhere along the line being “human” and “human nature” attracted negative connotations.  Think about it … the phrases “to err is human” and “that’s just human nature” clearly implies acceptance of behaviors and actions that we innately know would not otherwise be acceptable.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that we, as humans, don’t make mistakes, of course we do.  I’m talking about the “games people play” and the things people tell themselves that makes it okay to treat other people in ways that they would not want to be treated themselves.  And therein lays the irony of it all.  We toss out “I’m only human” or “that’s just human nature” in a double standard manner; either when we are aware we’ve “erred” or we’re attempting to appease someone else who’s been the butt of human nature, as if it’s supposed to make us feel better that society has made the negative aspects of human nature acceptable.

Oddly enough, there are psychological and scientific reasons and definitions as to why we, as “humans”, behave this way.  Scientists, from Darwin to Freud, and beyond have made life’s work out of defining humanity and human nature.  In fact, if you’ve seen the movie What the Bleep, you know that where once scientists and psychologists were adamant about their aspect of definition being the most accurate, they have now joined forces under the umbrella of the energy aspects of quantum physics to combine their views of “human nature” and why we do the things we do and behave the ways we behave.

We all know that defining terms such as “real”, “reality”, and “human nature” can be as frustrating and circular as trying to answer, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg”.  However, in as much as we have to have a basis for focus of discussion, let’s look at how dictionaries and encyclopedias define these terms.  These definitions were retrieved from www.wordreference.com - adapted From: WordNet 2.0 Copyright 2003 by Princeton University.

Real:

(1) possible to be treated as fact; "tangible evidence”; (2) having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary; (3) not synthetic or spurious;  (4) being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory; (5) no less than what is stated; worthy of the name; (6) founded on practical matters; (7) coinciding with reality.

Reality:

(1) all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you; (2) the state of being actual or real; (3) the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be; "businessmen have to face harsh realities."

Human Nature:

(1) the shared psychological attributes of humankind that are assumed to be shared by all human beings; (2) the sum of qualities and traits shared by all humans.

At the basis of all these definitions is subjectivity.  If reality is based on our own personal perceptions, and real is something ‘possible’ to be treated as fact and human nature presumably reflects a collective consciousness, well, then where does that leave us? 

Just as everything has yin-yang opposing aspects, in order to know what’s “bad”, we have to first know what’s “good”.  Of course, the converse is true, as well - in order to know what’s “good”, we have to know what’s “bad”.

So, that leaves us with defining “human nature” from a moral and ethical standpoint.  And the question becomes “Why have the shared psychological attributes of humankind, assumed to be shared by all human beings, taken on a negative connotation?  Why has it become societally acceptable to behave in amoral and unethical manners?”

Why?  If you can imagine it getting any scarier, the answer actually lies in the definition of “human nature”.  One of our shared psychological attributes is “fear”.  Why do we behave amorally and unethically?  FEAR and fear’s underlying motives.

Fear of what?  Fear of being rejected … fear of not being accepted … fear of being “found out”… fear of admitting we’re “human”… fear of being wrong … fear of being hurt … fear of being inferior … in short, fear of our fears.

But why?  When did it become fearful to treat others with the same loving-kindness we want?  When did it become fearful to be forthright in stating our wants, needs, and expectations?  When did it become fearful to admit our “errors”?  When did it become fearful to be honest?  When did justice and purity of motives become fearful? 

The “real” kicker is … it never has … it’s our fear that has made our fear okay.  It’s our acceptance of fear being a ‘way of life’ that has made “human nature” a negative attribute.  And I gotta tell ya … it’s terrifying me!!!

Let’s stop the madness!  Let’s all take a step back and ask ourselves what we’re really afraid of.  Let’s all take a step back and realize how our fears rob us of the very life, and love, we all really want.  Let’s all take a step back and realize that “human nature” dictates that by the time we realize all this it’s too late … it’s usually either when something extremely traumatic happens or we’re literally faced with our mortality.  And why?  Why waste precious time?  Why waste precious life?  Why waste precious love?

Let’s bring back the “real” meaning of “human nature”… let’s eliminate the stigma associated with “human nature” and make it all positive! 

How?  Let’s start with loving-kindness in everything you do, with everyone you know, with everyone you meet … in your words … in your actions … in your thoughts … in your behaviors … in your attitudes … In YOU!  Treat yourself, and others, with the same loving/kindness you want!  Stop using “human nature” as an excuse, unless it’s a reason you did what you did that was based only on “real” loving-kindness.

Do this and you will find that, just as with anything else that’s scary mainly because you don’t know what the outcome will be – and you ‘fear’ it will be ‘bad’, “human nature” doesn’t have to be scary at all!  Live life, and love, as “human nature” innately intended to be!

Don’t be afraid ….