Well, this counselling skills prof of mine gave us a project to do about a write up on human nature..this is what i came up with...
Human nature is similar to that of a virus; we are the most selfish beings on this planet. Consuming every possible natural resource to fulfill our own comforts. To understand human nature is to explore the boundaries of the universe. It can be as sweet as honey and as vicious as poison. There are great minds like Einstein and destructive minds like Hitler. Human nature can be as caring as Mother Teresa and as violent as Osama bin laden.
Human nature can be as simple as an instinct and as complicated as, well human nature it self. Because complicated again is a term invented by human nature. So what exactly is human nature? What constitutes it? Can it be generalized? I don’t think so, for me human nature is understood by interactions with humans, every one is different, at different times and circumstances. So I believe that if someone says to me that he has understood human nature fully I know he is lying or he is ignorant. I know this because it’s impossible to meet the 6 billion plus humans on earth, and that too at every second of their life.
Every thing in life is about balance, the good and the bad, god and the devil, darkness and light. So as we can’t imagine what lies on the edge of the universe, we can’t see what lies in our own minds. One of the things I believe is that no one knows what’s inside their own mind fully. I may be wrong, but even by being wrong I am proving my own point that the black hole can never be removed completely. So no matter what philosophy I give it does not matter, because my thinking is again a part of human nature and is circumstantial.
How do problems occur? Well if I knew that I would never face problems, prevention is better than cure isn’t it? So ignorance can be a reason, human nature by itself is a reason. Absence of a problem means the other half of the Chinese yin-yan coin is missing. So fulfillment of the universal balance can be a reason. In this case trying to define what is meant by problem is a problem. Every problem starts with a solution, the search for answers, and the search for satisfaction of needs. Does a monk who has given up all the joys and sorrows of this world to meditate under a tree have a problem? Probably he does, his solution is salvation and every action by itself constitutes a problem. A child crying out of hunger has a problem. So are we born with problems?
Can people change? Yes they can, but do they change? Well, it depends on the benefit of the change. Change in itself means the current state is not a desirable one and to change is in search of a better or worse solution from the existing state. Adaptability is inbuilt in human nature. But to change in what sense is a question that only the person willing to change can answer.
What am I willing to do to reduce someone else’s suffering? That’s depends on my motive. As I said earlier humans are selfish, even an unselfish deed is done to feel unselfish, which means it’s selfish. People who say I solve other peoples problems for free are lying. They do it to feel good, or feel happy that they did something right. So it depends on what difference does it make to me, it can be a monetary benefit, a benefit of doing my Christian duties, a benefit of a clean concisions, an emotional benefit etc. So the benefit defines the extent to which I would be willing to solve the other persons suffering. I like helping people, not all people but generally, so I may be doing it because I know them or may be because my concisions hurts if I don’t. Either way it is because I feel obligated to do something. What is this obligation, is it moral, is it religious, and is it human? I don’t know, I guess its one of those things which is a part of my black hole.
