The Most Intelligent Species on Earth
Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2008
by Camille Strate
JoyZAChoice
According to 'scientific studies', humans are the most intelligent species on planet earth. Ou
r brains are larger and more able to 'computate'. Our children are smarter today than they were 50 years ago. Our leaps of technological advancements have made all manner of knowledge more readily available than ever before. WE are the most intelligent species. Hmmmm....
As much as we try, we never seem to 'arrive' wherever it is we're aiming to get. We're always looking for ways to improve ourselves, find ourselves, be the best person we can be, live our best lives, etc., etc., ad nauseum. We read, and study, and meditate and join groups and volunteer and donate, all in the name of bettering ourselves and the lives of others. We're in a constant state of 'journeying', in hopes that one day we'll reach that glorious place...of peace, or happiness or ...what? What are we hoping to find? Where is it we're trying to get? What is this 'place' that seems to be ever-elusive?
What if it's all a big joke? What if, in the 'trying', we're completely overlooking what IS? What if, after it's all said and done, we end up exactly where we began? Is that the point? In trying, are we actually 'getting somewhere' or are we resisiting the very thing we're 'looking for'? What if...instead of 'trying', we just decided to BE. Without judgement, without criticism, without labeling...just BE. Wake up, eat, play, do some work, eat again, play some more, sleep. Like the critters do. Think about this: do you suppose that a dog wakes up in the morning and says to itself, "today, I'm going to perform some really amazing feat of bravery, save a human, and be a better dog." Do you think they do that? Is this why we think we're smarter than they are? Because we TRY and they don't? Seems to me, critters have the whole 'being' thing down. They just ARE. They sleep, eat, play and sleep some more. Sleep, eat, play. No worries. No insecurities. No 'trying' to measure up. A dog is a dog. A horse is a horse. A flower is a flower. So, we look at these 'things' and because we can 'say', "well, I'm smarter because I 'work on' being a better person"....that makes us smarter? Really? What I'm thinking is 'intelligence' has little to do with it. It's more about actually being PRESENT. Are we present? Are we really LIVING in the forms we call our bodies, or are we just marching along like good little soldiers, 'trying' to make the world and ourselves better? If we all just allowed ourselves to be in this moment, at every single moment of the day, would the world be a better place? Would there still be war and poverty and chaos? Or, if by staying in the moment, we all just decided to BE...and let everyone else BE, would we completely eliminate all these things that seem to be turning the planet upside down? Hmmmmm, indeed.
Camille Olivia Strate is an author, coach and travel consultant She believes strongly in 'paying it forward' and lives to, 'do what you love and allow the money to follow'. Her latest book, "Whispers" is now available in eBook format. Hardcopy to follow soon! Visit her personal site at http://www.joyzachoice.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Great article Camille. Good advice. It’s difficult for most people to just “be,” however, because they don’t understand how to do that. The purpose of Meditation, deeper meditation, is not to better oneself, but to become aware of one’s “self.” Then a practitioner can really live in that moment. Advanced meditation is generally misunderstood because it reduces ego, doesn’t better it. Actually, after one seriously meditates for some time and begins to see and understand the self, there is a feeling of becoming worse, because one begins to understand the illusions that they are under. Best……………..e
You're right there's a common driving force most of us seem to be born with. A force that pushes us not to settle at our current state of evolution but to strive towards an unknown goal. Almost as if It's in encoded in our DNA... Could it be possible we either bring balance or will at some point have a function that will bring balance to the universe in one way or another? Nature's way to drive us to serve a unknown but important purpose?
Hi Camille.
My cynical self doesn't quite agree that we are ALL trying constantly to better ourselves. Sorry. Yes, I know that is not the point of your article.
I think much of what is done in the name of bettering ourselves is done for recognition and accolades. Another cynical comment. Ooh, maybe I should take a harder look at my psyche this morning.
I don't know that I could drop all the technological trappings of my daily existence and live as naturally as the other animals do, but I do actually think being beats doing any day of the week.
Good point well made and well taken.
Hugs,
Dianne
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