I created The Better Human Project in response to the downward spiral I’ve recently observed in how human beings are interacting with one another. As a retired educator and grandparent, I care deeply about the survival of the next generation. I want my kids, my grandkids, and former students to not just survive, but to thrive in this world that we share with other human beings. I have always believed that we humans collectively have the power to shape the society in which we live. When we lose sight of this reality and allow the greedy for fame, wealth, and power to dictate the rules, humanity and the planet itself ultimately suffer.
During the process of creating this project, I reflected on what I thought it means to be human. To help me think deeply about this, I took the word human and assigned a word to each letter.
The letter “H” came to stand for creatures of habit. We all know that humans develop habits that enable us to live important parts of our lives without having to exert a lot of mental energy. Some are good and others are detrimental to our health and that of the planet. Being a better human means consciously developing habits that are beneficial.
I made the letter “U” stand for the reality that we are each unique, having differences in talents, energy levels, intelligence, and personality. I find great beauty and appreciation in the uniqueness of each human being and the special contributions their unique attributes allow them to make, especially when used to benefit humanity.
In my mind, the letter “M” came to stand for multicultural. Each human is raised within a community with an established set of values, traditions, language, and social rules. These provide an important feeling of belonging and safety. When a culture uplifts and values every human within the community, it is worthy of preservation. However, when individuals within a culture suffer alienation, oppression, and discrimination, then it is time to revise elements of that culture.
The letter “A” represents for me how humans are always active. We have an innate need to do something with our lives and when we are no longer active, we become bored, lethargic and depressed.
And finally, the letter “N’ stands for neighbors because we share a planet together and we affect each other’s lives whether we care to acknowledge this reality or not. We are not islands onto ourselves, nor communities unaffected by how other communities live. We breath common air, share oceans, and have limited resources.
With these beliefs about humans as the foundation for The Better Human Project, I narrowed down nine things each of us can do to become a better human. They are:
- Protect the planet
- Be truthful and value the truth
- Learn new things as a lifelong learner
- Love your neighbor
- Challenge bigotry
- Demand social justice
- Help others in need
- Practice inclusion
- Vote for better humans in elections
And that is The Better Human Project. I hope you’ll join me in becoming a better human to make our world a better place to live.