What Makes us Human?

Quite a big questions to contemplate in a blog of a few paragraphs! Volumes have been written. But I will not be intimidated.

I had a spectacular day yesterday. In the afternoon, I went to see the ballet “Dracula” by the Carolina Ballet, and later in the evening I went to the North Carolina Symphony and had the great joy to listen to a concert that had me at the edge of my seat. I am also looking forward to going to the North Carolina Museum of Art to see the exhibit “Small Treasures” of Dutch and Flemish genre painting.

I am not writing this to brag what kind of a cultured person I am. Other people derive equal pleasure from completely different art forms and can only shudder at the list above.

But it makes me wonder whether our appreciation of art and beauty in the eyes of the beholder is not the very essence of what it means to be human.

I look at my dog who has so many qualities that you hope to find in another person. Unconditional love, loyalty and honesty are things you will find in any dog. And as I interact with Mr. Darcy through the course of the day, I appreciate his understanding of my ways which he has learned to read like a book. Yet for all this, I have never seen him react to a beautiful sunset or a wonderful piece of music in any peculiar way.

If this gift is truly unique to us, then we should treasure it as our very humanity and foster the application and appreciation of art in its many forms.