Are we humans enough?
Are we humans enough?
Let’s talk about being humans today. Generally speaking, we’re now more than seven billion people all around the world, as humans, but my question here is “how many of us are real human beings”? I am not talking about the definition of it, which is a man, woman, or child of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance. I personally believe that the most important quality which differs us from other living creatures is our widely developed protective instinct. Combined with human conscience and being able to empathize our need to help the other gets bigger and bigger. Not for everyone for sure, but luckily for some of us, for the ones who puts a cup of water in front of their door for a possible thirsty animal, who gives a hand to whomever needs it, who gives a shoulder to whomever is crying…
Years ago, three friends/colleagues, we’ve decided to have a lunch break in our favourite meatball pub in a very busy suburb of Istanbul. We took our seats and started enjoying the best meatball plates of Istanbul. Few minutes later we saw this old lady approaching to the big glass door of the pub and started looking inside with this sad and timid look on her face. She must have been seventy or maybe eighty years old, well… it was difficult the say. She was just standing there and harmlessly looking. Maybe she was looking for someone, I thought, or maybe she was lost or she needed something and was too shy to ask for it. While I was asking all these questions to myself, I noticed our oldest and biggest friend going through the bench to add some more orders. We already knew how he liked eating, so this was a usual thing for him to do. Within five minutes, in those we already forgot about this old lady and returned enjoying our lunch, his big meatball sandwich was ready and packed. This sweet old lady was not forgotten by our big friend, he gently approached her and said “Here you go sweet lady, enjoy your meatball!”
We were seizing this moment with our mouths half open and with the half eaten meatballs in our throats. What was just happened? It was us, understanding in our bones with tears in our eyes, how to be a human being. For a second, I expected this lady to get angry with my friend, instead she took his hands between hers and started crying and thanking him in a grateful way. My friend kissed her hands softly and he thanked her before coming back to the table with this huge, delightful smile on his face.
While he was enjoying his lunch, we stood there numbles for minutes and couldn’t finished our plates. We were already full with emotions. Even it has been more than ten years, I never forgot that sweet old lady nor my friend’s gesture that day, because that day at that table I understood that humanity is not something to be defined by words. It is something that people have, better say must have inside and time to time bring it out with humble gestures. I am thankful to my friend to unconsciously teaching me how to become a human being.
Big hearted people! May the force be with you!
#human #beinghuman #protectiveinstinct #helpingeachother #empathy #consciousness
