Alts say life is a trip that gets explained to us at the end. So what is it we’re supposed to be doing on this journey? The answer may lie in the aspects of life that are common to us all—the human condition.
Everyone gets a body, has a childhood, experiences dating, and goes to school. We all have friends, encounter nature, and eventually get a job. And everyone feels a myriad of emotions. Protestant or Hindu, rich or poor, that’s the way it is. And most of what occurs in this lifetime is the same. Imagine a tall building or a multi-level ship. You flourish by travelling between floors. Each one is a separate experience. For example, floor eight could be money. Floor ten could be love. So keep wandering and pushing buttons until they say time is up.
Body
Maybe we don’t all eat lobster but we do all eat. Maybe we don’t all compete at the Olympics but we do all compete. And maybe we don’t all have multiple lovers but everyone tangles up with someone.
- Eating—we have our favourites and things we don’t like.
- Sleeping—some toss and turn, some like a baby.
- Fashion—from dressing to how we style our hair.
- Physical—hiking, playing sports, building a model, or taking a stroll. And whether by bus or by car, we all experience motion.
- Health—we have sick days and times we feel great.
- Senses—in addition to taste, we get to see, hear, smell, and feel. So whether it’s colours, sounds, scents, or texture—it’s all part of being here.
Nature
We’ve all felt water and played with animals. Some like to garden, some like to camp. In the end, everyone has a relationship with nature. From petting a dog, to walking in the wilderness, all of these make up a level. Wind, rainbows, flowers, and hills—lots to perceive out there.
People
Relationships are obvious. We meet loads of people. Friends come and go, family stays. Friends are typically going through the same phases in life as we are (e.g., high school), family is different. And there are neighbours and workmates. We all get along.
- Family—everyone has parents and relatives.
- Friends—everyone makes friends or acquaintances.
- Romance—those who invoke infatuation, attraction, and heartache in us.
- Teachers—many have a mentor influence over you.
- Co-workers—connections between people you work with.
- Cell mates—you can get a good one, you can get a bad one, some call them spouses.
Experiences
There are also many experiences we have in common. Take for example:
- Birth—everyone has a birthday (and better yet a star sign).
- Entertainment—different dials for pleasures and fun.
- Money—everyone has a relationship with money.
- Music—some have a deep connection with rhythm.
- Fantasy—most bond to some genre of film or novel. Others make it up.
- Learning—like it or not, you’re going to learn something.
- School—we all go.
- Suffering—can’t forget the Buddha since everyone eats it sometimes.
- Travel—we don’t always stay in the same place.
- Work—no matter how lazy, eventually we assume an occupation and come to know the difference between doing a good job and not.
Emotions
We feel a cast of emotions. Happy and sad is just the start. Courage and fear, anger and calm. Trust, pride, shame, and envy. Frustration, pity, kindness, and disgust. Sure, love is a big one but don’t forget the ones that rile you up (like passion) and those that bring you down.
Then add in characteristics that determine your actions. Aristotle called them virtues and said their development was the education of emotion. Integrity, humility, loyalty, and forgiveness. Compassion, generosity, ethics, and patience. These are greater than emotion by means of depth.
Dynamics
Along with various sensations there are many dynamics. Sensations are physical feelings (waterskiing), emotional feelings (laughing, crying), intellectual (learning, solving a problem), primal (hunger), and spiritual (ever watch Ghost Whisperer?). Dynamics are two-dimensional planes that we also operate on (see Taoist symbol).
Summary
Realizing you’re bound within a body is easy to imagine since you can only bend in certain ways. Seeing how you’re trapped within personality is a whole other affair. You can only do so much. Fortunately, we also have souls—and remember, everything gets explained to us at the end.
Plato said the mind can be broken into three: spirit, reason, and animal. Spirit is the soul (easy). Reason is what figures things out and decides how to live. And animals are for all-you-can-eat buffets. All three cover physical and emotional needs. The theory goes like this: souls enter this world by inhabiting a body and personality—just like boarding a car on a midway. Angels help you on, take the tickets, and buckle you in. Then you go through oodles of adventures and one day return to the mother ship (where they explain it to you).
Maybe not every person is covered by a soul, perhaps some are just actors. And maybe souls also exist within animals and objects. Who knows? In the meantime, everyone is going through similar sorts of events. Yes, everything isn’t exactly the same, it’s more like getting ten paints from a palate of twenty. But regardless of what you’re handed, it’s good to acknowledge that you’re living the human condition.
This concession is great for conversation, keeps your ego in check, and says don’t be a dolt. Dale Carnegie made a fortune by telling people about the first one. Maybe you’ll gain riches from all three. No matter, there’s lots to do.