The Being That Is Human
Welcome to week two of the book: Seek. Adapt. Endure.
In last week's post, I laid the groundwork for this series; catch up below.
Cody Tucker
This week's reading was thought-provoking. The core concept was respecting each part of yourself so that you can grow and perform at higher levels.
Chapter 2 - The Being That Is Human
As the author points out, there are two ways people like to explain the world, Materialism, and Dualism.
Materialism is the belief that all reality is purely physical—that all that exists is the world we perceive with our five physical senses.
In the materialistic sense, we are bodies led by carnal desires. We have evolved so our carnal thoughts are more complex, but the theme of life is seeking pleasure.
While dualism is believing reality has two dimensions separated by a fixed chasm—the physical and the spiritual. In dualism, the physical realm is corrupt, changing, and imperfect while the spiritual dimension is an impersonal, ideal world of perfection and excellence accessible to humans only through our minds.
In dualism, people subscribe themselves to never being good enough. They try to wrangle themselves to be closer to their understanding of the spiritual dimension.
They have a mind and body but spirituality is unattainable and unhelpful.
“God formed the Man out of the dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul” (Genesis 2:7 MSG).
In Christianity, there is a third piece of the puzzle, the soul.
We are spirit, soul, and body. So we are not one or two-dimensional but three-dimensional, like God. What is more, our tripartite nature is not designed to be perpetually at war in itself but to function organically and harmoniously together.
Summary
It's easy to slip into thinking there is a chasm between us and what we want. Even easier to imagine life as impossible because of a fallen world.
Intentionally training each part of ourselves by allowing stress to cause us to adapt was a mainstay in this chapter.
Allowing hard questions of faith instead of pushing them out can be just what you need to study. Trusting an unseen force when it doesn't seem logical can move mountains.
Final Thoughts
Stress and frustrations can be powerful forces for good and improvement.
How would your life change if you closed the chasm and connected the pieces?