DAY 59 – KEY ASPECT: THE HUMAN SPIRIT

I am watching my neighbor’s three year old daughter play with a new toy. There is a curiosity along with joy and enthusiasm with this toy that is ever present. Something is going on inside of this little girl that words cannot adequately describe. Her personal human spirit is at work here.

Toys are not only what this little girl enjoys. She likes music, being silly, laughing, running, wanting to do things on her own, certain foods, tv shows and being read to. Her preferences along with what she does not like make up her personal human spirit.

The love and joy that flows through children when they are with their parents, siblings, grandparents and anyone else they are close to is readily visible. A child’s ability to light up at the sight of someone important to them is something marvelous to behold. While children can become upset one moment because of not getting their way they also can bounce back and be friendly and happy immediately thereafter. The spirit of a child is no different than that of an adult.

Words cannot describe why each of us like, love and want to spend more moments with certain people than others. Words cannot describe why we feel as we do when we show certain people that they matter so much to us. Words cannot describe the desire to act with kindness, consideration and respect towards our fellow human beings. Caring is what lies within each of us.

The human spirit allows us to create the underlying ideals for a better world. It gives us the belief that all human beings are equal. We believe in justice and fairness. We do not like it when someone is mistreated, whether by words or deeds.

The human spirit is also what allows us to persevere under the most difficult of times. When situations seem unbearable the human spirit gives us the fortitude to plough ahead and not give up. Believing that a better tomorrow is there for the taking we do not quit.

On the other side, the human spirit is also a fragile thing. Life has a way of being harsh at times and when it becomes overly unbearable a person’s spirit may become affected. A negativity can set in that results in frustration, anger and in the worst of all situations a despondency that leads to a loss of hope.

Without the spirit of hope many do not have that inner belief that allows for problematic situations to be squarely faced and successfully rectified. The mindset that says I can do this is replaced by nothing will change or it can’t be done. The more one loses hope the less likely a person will march forward with an inner belief that conquers all.

Luckily for us our ancestors’ collective spirit has given us far more good than the difficulties that exist today. They never gave up hope for a better tomorrow and made technological progress along with humanitarian ideals that transformed the world. We just need to add to their benevolence with the belief and spirit that will eventually make this the last century for most human problems.

After watching this three year old girl playing with a toy I now realize that there is something that lies within each and every human being that makes every person unique and who they are. From what a person gravitates towards and who they want to spend their time with, a person’s individual spirit is at work. When we show kindness, consideration and respect to others and when we care about the welfare of and come to the aid of our fellow human beings this is when we project the best of the human spirit onto the world.