Human

by Tianxiao Wang

If you’re reading this, you probably have a unique perspective on the human experience. Though we share the title and identity of humans, what is rooted in the word varies over time and from person to person. This keyword aims to present snippets on how humans are viewed in different ways, bringing them together from their drastically different contexts together as I ask you to reflect on what, at its core, it means to you and the world around you, to be human.

This keyword is composed of several frames, taken from different stories, composed by different humans. By no means is this a comprehensive or representative of what human means. It is simply a few ways that I have found the word to be used and documented. A short description of the source hangs below each frame, along with a short reflection, in hopes that you will reflect on the frame on its own first rather than judging based on preconceived notions of its source and of the lens through which I viewed it. I hope that at the end of each frame, you will pause and consider how this and other frames of humanity that are not included here have influenced the way you see yourself and other humans.

The word human comes from the root hum- with a connection to the ground. Humans are defined as sharing a ‘human nature,’ a group identity. As much as we differ, these definitions show that we accept the belief that we share certain characteristics, such as our social and compassionate tendencies, even creating the word ‘humane’ to be so closely connected to the word with which we define ourselves. The root of the word comes from hum-, meaning ground because as humans, we are children of the ground, who nourishes us and provides us with the home that humanity is deeply rooted in. These definitions all embrace an energy of inclusion and love. Although humanity has not always been good at upholding these qualities, it is hopeful to think that humans, at our essence, attach ourselves to this connection with each other and with the world around us.

Hotton, Nicholas. The Evidence of Evolution. American Heritage; Book trade and institutional distribution by Van Nostrand, 1968.

Biological studies tell the story that all humans share a past with each other and the rest of life on Earth. They tell us that we are connected to all forms of life, and we are made of the same building blocks of cells, diverging from the same common ancestor. They also tell us that the DNA we share, our organs, our senses, all are a product of evolution, just like the feather or a bird or the antenna of an ant. It places humans as a part of a much bigger story, and archeology brings us to see how small humanity is in the history of life and even smaller history of the world.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Let us make man in our image.

Put down that bag of potato chips, that white bread, that bottle of pop.

Turn off that cellphone, computer, and remote control.

Open the door, then close it behind you.

Take a breath offered by friendly winds. They travel the earth gathering essences of plants to clean.

Give it back with gratitude.

If you sing it will give your spirit lift to fly to the stars’ ears and back.

Acknowledge this earth who has cared for you since you were a dream planting itself precisely within your parents’ desire.

Let your moccasin feet take you to the encampment of the guardians who have known you before time, who will be there after time. They sit before the fire that has been there without time.

Let the earth stabilize your postcolonial insecure jitters.

Be respectful of the small insects, birds and animal people who accompany you.
Ask their forgiveness for the harm we humans have brought down upon them.

Don’t worry.
The heart knows the way though there may be high-rises, interstates, checkpoints, armed soldiers, massacres, wars, and those who will despise you because they despise themselves.

The journey might take you a few hours, a day, a year, a few years, a hundred, a thousand or even more.

Watch your mind. Without training it might run away and leave your heart for the immense human feast set by the thieves of time.

Do not hold regrets.

When you find your way to the circle, to the fire kept burning by the keepers of your soul, you will be welcomed.

You must clean yourself with cedar, sage, or other healing plant.

Cut the ties you have to failure and shame.

Let go the pain you are holding in your mind, your shoulders, your heart, all the way to your feet. Let go the pain of your ancestors to make way for those who are heading in our direction.

Ask for forgiveness.

Call upon the help of those who love you. These helpers take many forms: animal, element, bird, angel, saint, stone, or ancestor.

Call your spirit back. It may be caught in corners and creases of shame, judgment, and human abuse.

You must call in a way that your spirit will want to return.

Speak to it as you would to a beloved child.

Welcome your spirit back from its wandering. It may return in pieces, in tatters. Gather them together. They will be happy to be found after being lost for so long.

Your spirit will need to sleep awhile after it is bathed and given clean clothes.

Now you can have a party. Invite everyone you know who loves and supports you. Keep room for those who have no place else to go.

Make a giveaway, and remember, keep the speeches short.

Then, you must do this: help the next person find their way through the dark.

Random House Webster's Dictionary of American English. New York, Random House Reference, 2001.

The Bible. New International Version, Zondervan, 2011. (Genesis 1:26–27.)

Christianity’s creation story for humans gives us a divine background, where humans are seen as ‘above’ the other creatures of the world. With religion historically being an important guide for human action, this perspective on humans has contributed to the sense that land and nature belong to humans, who have the right to control them. Some see this as a license for humans to exploit the earth's resources for their own benefit. Others who share this faith interpret it as a call to responsible stewardship and care for the environment. This view of humans as divine and made in God’s image is distinct from the view of humans as just another species in the history of the world.

Ibbotson, Roger, Moshe Milevsky, and Kevin Zhu. Lifetime Financial Advice: Human Capital, Asset Allocation, and Insurance. CFA Institute, 2007.

Many of our lives are deeply entrenched in the capitalist systems that dominate the world today. The field of economics has grown significantly, as profit becomes the norm for an incentive-based system that humans act upon. The concept of human capital is how humans are represented in most economic functions. One can increase human capital through education, skills development, and other forms of training to yield substantial economic returns by enhancing productivity, fostering innovation, and driving industrialization. This paper describes human capital as decreasing over time in this graph because “human capital can depreciate through unemployment, injury, mental decline, or the inability to keep up with innovation.” This is a very different idea of age than other forms of thinking about humanity that is deeply rooted in ideas of eldership and wisdom. Though economic systems were originally formed to facilitate human life and interactions, the power of these systems have made humans an input factor into the equation for the system’s own expansion, with our value often judged on how much we can contribute to the system.

Mafolo, Pitsho. Redefining Life. 2019, mixed media on paper, 186 x 166 cm. Democratic Republic of Congo

Pitsho Mafolo is an artist who uses mixed media to incorporate his African roots and the experiences of moving to new places into his artwork. Mafolo describes his artistic approach as follows: “The lines in my drawings symbolize destiny, which creates new life after enduring disaster. It represents a situation that wipes everything out, only for it to be gradually filled in with new colors and forms, akin to a phoenix rising from its ashes.”

Mafolo's work is deeply tied to the concept of what it means to be human, particularly through the lens of resilience and transformation. Each small detail represents a moment or aspect of life, contributing to a broader narrative that is both personal and universal. This approach highlights the complexity and richness of human life, where each experience, no matter how small, plays a crucial role in shaping one's identity and destiny. The person in the piece acts as a scale, holding up both the earth and what seems to be a symbol of suffering amidst a busy background of experiences. Humans today face many environmental and social challenges, and we grapple with balancing them along with all of our own individual stories and experiences, happiness and pain.

As humans, we find ourselves in a world that has stripped so many of us of our true spirit. Many of us live in a postcolonial, capitalist system where we struggle with distractions, worries, and egos that lead us astray further and further from our spirits within us to chase and follow a path guided not by our inner humanity but by what this system expects of us. This piece reminds you, that even before you had your career, your aspirations, your wealth, your responsibilities, and your worries, you had your spirit. To break our minds, our bodies, and hence our humanity from the system, you must welcome your own spirit and encourage our brothers and sisters to do the same.

Harjo, Joy. "For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in Its Human Feet." Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings: Poems, W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, pp. 3-5.

To end off, I wanted to share my favorite picture of me from when I was learning to be a human. It is a reminder to me of when it all started and to listen to the human spirit that has always accompanied me.