The Human Split

Recently, I came across a book by an Australian biologist, Jeremey Griffith, “Freedom, The End Of The Human Condition.”
He talks about how humans evolved from the instinctual creatures of early man to the time when our brains developed enough where we became thinkers and seekers after knowledge. That shift caused a split in our psyches and we then began to focus on acquiring to make ourselves feel better and more powerful. In theory, the more money, things, fame we had the better we would feel. However, we were mistaken. It has not worked out that way. And, that thinking and that choice has brought us to where we are right now.
 
It’s very clear we are at a cross-roads. We each have to decide how we want to proceed.  Do we want to keep reaching for our fortune and the material goods associated with it or do we want to become more aware that we are part of humanity and that our actions affect others and the planet we live on?
 
I have been invited to work on an Ecco newsletter at Unity Church in N. Charleston and have been focused on what groups of people are doing to address the issues of pollution, primarily the overuse of plastics and the harm that causes wildlife and also human life as it adds to the rise in temperature on our planet. But it is exactly that crisis that is bringing people together. It is now clear that we belong to the human tribe, no matter the color of our skin, where we live, what we believe. The changes on our planet, mostly caused by our lack of understanding of the impact of our choices, are real and we are forced to address them. While individual choice is critical, it is when we see ourselves as 7.5 billion humans causing issues on the Earth, that we can have impact and make the changes we need to make. 
 
By, the way, part of what is causing climate change is the fact that the Earth has shifted on its axis and it is wobbling somewhat. However, the issue of pollution is squarely on the shoulders of the humans who live on her.
 
But getting back to Jeremey Griffith’s book.  To oversimplify, he is saying that as humans we are torn between the instinctual loving self and the part of us that is focused on thinking and acquiring to make us feel better and replacing real connection and love. I began to look at life through that filter and can see that in each of us.  The times when we are loving and kind and the times that we are withdrawn, judging and watching out for ourselves and against others, however subtle that may be. I see it in myself and I see it in everyone around me.  What the book is saying is that to find peace we have to accept that split is in all of us, no exceptions, and then begin to choose to come from our loving self.  It is that choice that will save us from ourselves and also keep our planet safe for habitation for all animals, including humans.
 
My best wishes for all of us to accept who we are and to choose wisely,
Dianne J. Shaver
www.entrepreneurmindworld.com

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