spes

what distinguishes human beings from animals? at first it would seem as if there is no difference. humans fight with each other. they desire satisfaction of carnal needs and depend on natural instincts to survive. the human being on the physical side of things does look pretty much like an animal.

what about the intellectual side? humans learn from their mistakes. they question their world. yet these are all things that animals have been seen to exhibit as well. just look at any of the PETA videos that study the nature of animals. sure it's biased towards their goals but it is hard to deny the observations within it. i used to think that the difference between animals and humans was that we ask 'why'. why do we exist? why do things work as they do? animals don't seem to exhibit these existential ponderings, but we have no way of measuring or quantifying it. we can't understand their language nor can we listen to their thoughts. so it is just a guess. animals seem to just exist and to do whatever it is that they need to exist. they don't seem to stop and question why it is that they do what they do.  but maybe this can be seen in the animal who challenges the alpha male for leadership of the pack. that challenger overthrew the status quo in order to change things as they were. if animals were complacent beings that didn't wonder why, then why would they challenge the status quo? maybe it is all based on carnal needs...

i think that what differentiates humans from animals is hope. we humans hope all the time. we hope for a better life. we hope for love. we hope for happiness. even when a situation begs for no hope at all, we continue to hope against all odds. we hope when we know we shouldn't. we hope that there is meaning to the joy and misery in our lives. we hope that there is something greater than us out there. animals don't hope. they act in order to get what they need.

maybe it's because humans desire more than they should. is it wrong to desire more to life than what we already have? desire is supposed to lead to suffering and to end suffering we need to end desiring. the author of 'buddha's brain' suggests that it is not desire but craving that leads to suffering. and if we take the driving force of craving out of desire, we are left with hope again. hope is what nourishes us and dooms us. but hope is all we have. hope is that small candle burning within us, flickering yet constantly burning. hope is the essense of humanity. it is the breath of the holy spirit within us. it is our guide and our burden.

yet what of the hopeless? i don't think there is such a thing. when someone is hopeless in one particular desire, the hope just diverts itself towards something else. hope can not be killed because it is eternal. it's what gives us life and drives us forward.