“Man’s reach must exceed his grasp.” – Robert Browning
There is a great deal that is unknown about human capabilities. It begins with the reach of our mind, and spans onto the depths of our passion. There is so much we, as humans, are capable of; much of it is good, but much of it is also horrendous and bad.
The human body is the greatest marvel and miracle of life, it is a monument to life itself; from every pore, to every follicle of hair, to the individual function of every cell, organ, and system. The body is capable of enduring great amounts of pain and pleasure. It is capable of producing life, and nurturing it. It is able to evolve, adapt, grow, and heal itself. We’ve pushed our bodies to physical extremes with sports, recreation, abuse, and nurturing. We’ve seen the human body at its finest, and we continue to watch as it sinks to its lowest.
However, the physical plane is the only boundary we’ve pushed to extremity. We continue to pursue healthy and wealthy lives, nourishing ourselves with education, knowledge, experience, and practise. We’ve pierced, punctured, sewn, repaired, encased, healed, shrunk, operated, stretched, tortured, sterilized, procreated, and neglected our bodies. Why do we pay such close attention to the physical form in terms of finding a limit? It’s simple, the limit is tangible. Should you push your body too far, the limit is death.
The other planes we fear to venture into include that of the emotional realm, and the intricate puzzle of the brain.
Our emotional range can fly from intensely loving a person, so much so that we are willing to give our life for them, to such intense hatred that we are willing to take our own lives as a means to taking their’s as well. It is astounding to watch people fly between these two extremes on a daily basis. True, there are not as many people on the negative extreme, but they still often reach the point of wanting to take the other person’s life.
Emotions allow for empathy, apathy, contempt, lust, and infatuation to take place. They drive the arts, and give life a deeper meaning. Have we ever truly explored the depths of our emotional abyss? What more are we capable of? Perhaps our emotions are powerful enough to take on physical forms. It’s possible that our emotions can form bonds with people across continents, oceans, and maybe even worlds. We can’t possibly know the limit of our emotions, can we? Is there’s a physical boundary that signals for us to stop? What is the equivalent of physicality’s death in the emotional realm?
We fight, so often, to limit our emotions. We tame them, suppress them, bottle them, avoid them, and rationalize them. With society, business, and law surrounding us, we strive to encase our emotions with reason and rational thought. Fair enough, for if we didn’t, chaos would ensue. But what have we forfeited in doing this? What endless possibilities have we truncated?
One of the greatest feats of humanity is its capability to love, at least I see it that way. A parent will sacrifice their life for their child. A spouse will go through great lengths for the one they love. Some of the greatest events in the world have taken place in the name of love; a love for freedom, a love for mankind, a love for God, and a love for life. Imagine, just imagine, how endless our love could be, quite literally. What have we sacrificed in order to be a “civilized” race?
The human brain is capable of great things; memories, cognitive reasoning, daily decisions, basic math, verbal communication, interpreting signs, science at the highest degree, mind games, imaginations, dreams, and all of it encompassed within its small, but intricately woven structure.
It has been stated that humans only use a certain percentage of their brain in day to day life. Even the most educated scholars only use so much. Some studies have labelled this a myth and stated that humans use 100% of their brains. If that’s a fact, how is it possible that we are still unaware to some of the uses of the brain. For years we’ve studied, analyzed, and picked apart the human brain, and there are several activities taking place that have yet to be determined or labelled.
Imagine, yes use your brain and imagine, what our minds are truly capable of. The use of telepathy could actually be buried deep within the folds of our brain. Telekineses, and several other fictional superpowers that the human mind has created for the genre of science-fiction. If we’re able to fathom such a thing, what’s to say it isn’t possible?
The human mind has given us the ability to both create a disease, and cure it at the same time. What is the marker the indicates the boundary of the human mind? If there is one, is it possible that we have created it ourselves? Have we imagined our own limits?
Have we, as humans, backed ourselves into a little corner of possibility throughout our existence? Have we limited ourselves? What is the human limit; and should we find it, is it real?
Tags: body, Brain, Browning, Challenges, Emotions, Humanity, Limits
Its so difficult to disagree with this piece. The world will forever be consumed with the physical realm, because, the mind is fleeting. You’re right, who knows what we’re capable of doing with our minds, but as long as we live in this society of cretinism and over-indulgence, this mental and emotional exodus ceases to be in thought. Contempt is truly the middle ground between the extremes of feeling; the world hates what it cannot comprehend. I’m secretly hoping that there was an event that triggered this reaction towards this beautiful piece you’ve written. And thank you for letting me think. For once.
I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter?
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