BESTSELF™ ICEBREAKER | Beliefs 23

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN?

I mulled this for a while and came up with a few things but nothing that felt right. So I asked myself, what separates being a human from being anything else? This is what I asked Google, which came up with this response: “The general consensus at this time, across the board of researchers, is that self-awareness is the most fundamental difference between us and the animals. Human beings are capable of self-analysis, mental time travel, imagination, abstract reasoning, cultural establishment, and morality.”

With all due respect to the experts, and since I can’t actually have a conversation with my dogs about what they know or feel, the only thing I’m sure of is that being human makes me capable of gratitude.

My dogs and I have souls. We can adapt and change based on physical and emotional conditions. Relationships with others are created and curated. We trust and rely on our instincts. We can communicate with each other. We have far more in common than not. The only thing I know we do not share is a sense of appreciation for what we have - and opposable thumbs.