Body, Mind, Soul: I Am

A human: a being that seeks a balance of self through creation and wanderlust. How many can say that they never did something new and foreign to get a “rush” or a “high?” And, how many can say that they never built something, whether it be muscles to throw a football farther or an invention that changed the world.

We are people, but we do not know ourselves. As much as we know about the world around us and how our bodies function, we do not know a “body.” Do we even know our minds? This is Descartes’ worst nightmare but also his greatest achievement. Our brains/minds are real—so are our bodies. Does that make us human then?

With the creation of the universe, smaller creations came into existence, growing gradually smaller until we were made. The first person would have woken up with wide eyes to a world of peace and greenery. Now, we awake to a white, sterile background with men in blue who stare us down. Only the comforting warmth of this large figure laid out upon a bloody bed gives us any assurance that we are human.

But, that is not being human. Mammals give live births. They can die during childbirth as much as any mother can. This is not humanity but life. With every fish that swims and every bird that flies, we are all connected yet secretly different. What makes us different from every animal is indeed hidden. That is why most of us are not human.

If we were human, we would know the consequences of our actions and the benefits we desire and still make the wrong choice but know that we will rise again stronger than before. Is this not idiotic? Should we not go for the choice that has the greatest benefit for the least cost? The thing is, we will never come to that decision because we are not yet prepared.

Imagine, as an infant, you were given two options. One would reward you would wealth and love and peace. The other would reward you with suffering, struggle, and age. Could you make the right choice? If you could, would you truly be satisfied? In making a choice for life, you have to use your prior knowledge to truly know how to enjoy it.

What could an infant do with infinite wealth? Even as the child would age, they still would not know what to do with it. Greed and Pride would set in early because of the wealth, thus making any input from the parents useless.

Having love and infinite peace would be great, but there would be no conflict to give their life meaning. There would be no tales of how this infant began to walk or later grew up to be a well-mannered adult because it would never fall, never struggle, and would never need to think. For nearly 100 years, this infant would grow doing absolutely nothing. Is this what humanity is destined to have?

No; neither is the flip side of this life coin. Instead, a balance is needed. We need love to counter the hate and peace to counter the struggle. This is what life is and we know this. Yet, we do not understand it. That is why we as people become stuck entirely in the negative or partially in the positive. We need balance, but balance can only come through understanding.

Understanding ourselves is the key to life, but this is in itself a paradox if you don’t know what to look for. That is why this book is created. To understand yourself, you must know what “You” are made of. With that said, let’s begin our journey into the Body, Mind, and Soul.