If you Google the question, "What does it mean to be human?" you will get over ten billion hits. Ten. Billion. Let me get this straight: humans, myself included, are turning toward an electronic platform to explain to us who we are? Have we lost our minds? What can the all-mighty internet tell us about ourselves that we don't already know? Two things are clear: 1.) We are obsessed with ourselves and 2.) We are not at all self-aware.
Quickly glancing through the billions of hits, there are voices of artists, scientists, philosophers, politicians, writers, religious leaders and a whole host of other keyboard crusaders spending great amounts of time, and thought, communicating their interpretations of what it means to be human. And, yet, each voice, each person, has their own definition of the human experience. Is that, in and of itself, what it means to be human? Why is it so difficult for us to understand our own human-ness?
We know we are human beings by virtue of just being born. But, we struggle with the concept of being human because humans are capable of a great many atrocities, as well as a great many achievements. These two factors taken together makes it confusing to determine who we are as a collective - as humanity. If there is one good thing to come of Coronavirus, maybe it's this: the true essence of our humanity.
Sometimes it's hard to see the good when we've been told to isolate ourselves from each other and stay in our homes. It's difficult to recognize each other's benevolence when we feel disconnected from our communities. It is an innate challenge to preserve our humanity, when so much of who we think we are is tied to our connections with others. But, we, as a people, are adapting to this situation and figuring out how to extend our true humanity - our mercy, our compassion, our understanding, our generosity and our love.
I see people I know sewing masks for our front-line health care workers.
I see educators volunteering to assist with childcare needs for our health care workers.
I see children designing pictures - with hopeful messages and symbols - to hang in their windows or post on street signs in their neighborhoods.
I see people stepping up to help out their literal neighbors, especially those that are aged or compromised in some way, in order to get them groceries and other goods.
I see restaurateurs opening their doors to students, who in the absence of school are without meals, to ensure that they have something to eat.
I see grocery stores protecting our elderly shoppers by providing them with specific hours to shop.
I see friends dropping off baked goods, and other favorite treats, on each other's doorsteps to help them get through their days.
I am hearing of church groups calling their parishioners to just check in and see how they're doing and if they need anything.
I see many of us are following state edicts and guidelines to shelter in place, in order to help protect those of us that are more vulnerable to this virus.
I see people hosting virtual happy hours with open invitations to prevent social isolation.
I see fitness instructors offering their workouts online - for free - to help keep people moving and healthy.
I see former students, and friends of mine, who are posting crisis line phone numbers to remind us all that help is a phone call, or a text, away.
These are all examples I am witnessing daily in my own little sphere of being. There are even more examples of people coming together from all over the globe.
A few of the more notable examples include the residents in Italy who sang together from their balconies, people in Spain, Italy, and Israel have been seen giving rounds of applause to healthcare workers arriving on the scene, and a Michelin-star winning chef in the UK has prepared food boxes for those in need.
And, possibly, the most hopeful aspect of all of these endeavors is that they seem to be contagious. It would appear that we are experiencing an epidemic of our humanity in the midst of a global pandemic. Even in the midst of tragedy, catastrophe, devastation, and unimaginable loss, we, humans are starting to remember those among us that are in vulnerable positions - the elderly, the compromised, and the young who are forced to shelter in place with abusers, to name a few. Our natural environment is improving. By the looks of it, humans are exhibiting their humanity.
I don't know what the definitive answer is on what it means to be human. But, it's evident that in times of crises, like the Coronavirus, a light is shone brightly on our humanity. Let the light continue to illuminate our collective goodness in the face of all that is dark, for that is where hope lives.
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