Neighbourly

As I've mentioned in this blog, both using fiction and nonfiction, I am connected to the rest of our species. I have traveled the world, met interesting people where I attended meetings that required nondisclosure agreements and sat in outdoor gatherings where people openly discussed ideas that had no meaning to me but held importance to others.

I have been paid not to talk and talked without getting compensation. I have friends in wrong places and right times.

As I've said, we are all the same. We are people. Our genetic variations make us closer than any other species, rather than make us separate.

I have nothing to hide. I am as open as I can possibly be, polite discretion keeping me from blurting out information about others, which would seem unkind and cruel if they have chosen to keep their private information to themselves.

Otherwise, I observe. I see what's going on. Sure, I have wellbred social filters that I wear but I'm aware of most if not all of them.

I am a primate, a...what did somebody call us?... an East African Plains ape. I walk upright. I have no divine powers. I have no ability to exist after death. I am proud of my species as it is, without granting it eternal existence.

We have accomplished much but we have a long way to go before we can claim that our species is the best there is. Certainly not the best that ever will be. I'm not even sure what such a claim would encompass, let alone accomplish. Many writings record the thoughts of those who've recognized our species' tendency to believe the current generation is the best yet or the best ever, writings going back thousands of years. In other words, don't get carried away by the new discoveries in this generation. Our species will always find something new to do.

People seem to want to carry on practices and habits of the past, giving their ancestral lineage credit for discovering the secrets to life which the latest descendants use to survive and succeed. We are here because of all our ancestors and every last one of us carries the secret of our species - really, of any species - within us. No hidden rituals or special formulae to memorize. Just this: be neighbourly.

I expect imperfection from the people around me because I know that perfection does not exist. Because we are imperfect, let's put our emotional expectations of perfection aside and work on goals that benefit us both as a species and as individuals within our species. Ignore the naysayers, those who want to categorize us against one another. We can disagree without shouting at one another. We can hold a civil discourse about sensitive issues. In the market of trade, support commerce that has inherent value.

I'm standing here, your mirror looking back at you. You are me and I am you. We are the only people who exist. I want to help you live and hope you will help me live. That's all that matters. We have seven billion other neighbours just like us. No need to make it any more complicated than that.