If you want to know the answer to life, what it is, and why we are here, you will not find it in this book. But if you are looking for perspective and a deeper appreciation for the gift of life that we all share as humans on this amazing earth, this is the book that I would have loved to read.
Life has been said to be a journey. It’s not something that can be figured out; it’s something that must be lived. The journey is what makes life so amazing and beautiful. If we live our lives with the destination in mind, we miss the moments that make life, life.
This book is just one imperfect perspective, but after 40 years of people watching, asking questions, curious discovery, and processing what life is about and what its meaning is, I hope this book will simply provide what it intended: one human’s perspective on life as a human.
So, where do we start with a book about life as a human? Let’s start at the end and work our way back.
As unreal as it might seem, you will die at some point. The beautiful existence you have enjoyed, the memories, and your conscious self, will, at some point in the future, end. What can we learn now that helps us appreciate this life we live even more? That life is short. Within 100 years, approximately from your birth, your existence, and being a conscious soul, your precious life will end.
I will not touch on religion in this book very much, and each human has earned the right, as a living soul, to believe in what they want to believe. But if we simply look at history, we see that humans are born and die. We must assume that, logically, it will be the same course for us, regardless of whether we believe something exists beyond this life.
What can we learn from this fact of life? We learn that each second we are alive is a gift. Each breath we take and each day we wake up is a reason to be thankful. No matter what situation we find ourselves in, we can find a reason to be thankful because we are conscious souls, beings of higher intelligence who are able to live something that is beyond expression and can only be defined as magical: life on this earth as humans.
As we connect with the world around us and bond with other humans, who are magically the same as us, and provide them with love, care, kindness, and compassion. When we live a life that provides others around us a reason to be thankful, we pass on something of inexpressible high value.
When we consider other humans as part of our family, we connect to something beyond ourselves. We choose to tear down walls and build lasting connections. Regardless of nationality, sex, religion, economic status, and any other imaginary boundaries we as humans have created, when we look past these, we see something shocking: similarities, equality in existence, being contemporaries on the same road of this life as humans. This perspective creates something that can tear down whatever seems to divide us.
Each human we pass on the streets is our contemporary in life. We share this moment with each person, each child, and each individual we meet in this time and space. Words cannot express the majesty of this singular miracle.
So, where do we find ourselves? We find ourselves on Earth in the vastness of expanding space, in one galaxy in an unbelievably large universe, and we happen to be alive at this time with others who have been given this same unexpected gift. Appreciating this fact lays the groundwork for this book.
We will die, but how we live in this moment matters. We have an opportunity each day to stir up laughter, happiness, satisfaction, joy, and love for ourselves and all humans around us. Our words, body language, facial expressions, and actions give something no amount of money, knowledge, or power can provide. Memories and connections that satisfy our life and other humans, our family, who are blessed with this amazing gift of life. The effects of these acts and our mindsets can affect not just this moment in time but future generations to come. What a power you and I possess.