I first heard about the human experience when Dax Shepard described going to see Taylor Swift with his daughter.
“Within, I don’t know, 90 seconds, 2 minutes, I’m starting to cry both because that’s my sweet spot. Female singers expressing themselves. But way more than that, I’m turning and looking to my right. And Lincoln is singing at the top of her lungs with this unbridled joy and happiness, and it was so pure. And was so so pure, it was so moving. It just made me love her so much. And I know I’m in real trouble. Now, I’m like, I’m crying to the point where it’s embarrassing me and so I’m laughing kind of self consciously. And then eventually, Lavender came on, (Lavender Haze), and it pulled me down there. It really tugged me down to the dance area. And I danced as hard as I’ve ever danced for probably three songs. What, what an experience. Like, what is the secret sauce here? Why is this so incredible? I think if you’re a girl or a woman, and you watch her, she represents 100% freedom in a way that I don’t know that we’ve watched a woman live out loud. She’s completely independently wealthy. She is being judged by her substance, which is wild. She is a big huge star because of her substance because of her work ethic because of her creativity because of her dedication. She’s not there because she was a homecoming queen. And she looked great on stage. That is not why she’s there. She made that reality for herself. And she is a one person matriarchy, it’s there. It’s like the ultimate wish fulfillment. It might be the only example I can think of that I can just see that she has transcended the entire structure she was born into. And it’s really cool.” – Dax Shepherd from the Robert Sapolsky episode on Armchair Expert.
Then I heard Tom Hanks describing what is real.
“We are getting into the thing. What matters? What holds? What is really the thing that makes being human worthwhile? If we can have a computer-generated pal on screen or lady named Siri, who answers all of our questions, what has substance? What has value? What has meaning? What makes waking up in the morning worthwhile when you can hear only the stuff you want to hear? You will not be challenged in any way outside of your own individual comfort zone, and if you can imagine it, you can see it. We are desirous in order to see life recreated in a way that delights us. What are we willing to pay for in order to feel more alive than we do?” – Tom Hanks and Dax Shepard. @1:14:55 on the Armchair Expert.
It drew my attention to recognise a theme behind certain moments.
Moments like opening my moonroof, my morning coffee ritual, watching ‘the kiss and ride’ stops at train stations, the smell of freshly mowed grass, the discomfort for lactose intolerant people, our desire for novelty, the brilliance of colours in nature, the turn of a first page in a book.
We are deeply human.
We get a full range of emotions – joy, love, sorrow and despair. We get to experience the physical sensations of being alive, with multiple senses.
Being human is the sum of our experiences on earth; a journey of self-discovery and growth; an exploration of our innermost thoughts and feelings, and yet it is also the courage to face our fears and doubts; learning to communicate and empathise with others; and a recognition of our shared humanity.
It is a hard life, and a beautiful life.
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