Why Humanism? A Compassionate and Reality-Based Approach to Living Well

In a world filled with complexity, challenges, and uncertainties, the quest for meaning and fulfillment is a universal pursuit. Amidst the myriad philosophies and ideologies that shape human thought, one perspective stands out for its profound relevance and timeless wisdom: Humanism.

At its core, Humanism is not just a philosophy; it is a way of life—an applied study of what it means to be a good human being and to live well. Rooted in the distilled knowledge of humanity, Humanism offers a compelling framework for navigating the complexities of existence with clarity, compassion, and purpose.

Embracing Reality-Based Principles

Central to Humanism is the recognition and acceptance of reality as it is—an acknowledgment that our perceptions, beliefs, and actions must be grounded in objective truths. In a world often fraught with misinformation and ideological divides, the commitment to reality-based principles serves as a guiding light, illuminating pathways to understanding, growth, and progress.

By embracing reality-based thinking, Humanism empowers individuals to confront challenges with courage and resilience, fostering a deeper appreciation for the complexities of the human experience. Rather than succumbing to wishful thinking or denial, Humanism encourages us to confront difficult truths head-on, catalyzing personal and collective transformation.

Cultivating Compassion-Based Ethics

Beyond its commitment to reality-based principles, Humanism places a profound emphasis on compassion—a recognition of our interconnectedness and shared humanity. In a world characterized by diversity and difference, compassion serves as a unifying force, bridging divides and fostering empathy, understanding, and solidarity.

Through compassion-based ethics, Humanism challenges us to extend kindness and empathy to all beings, nurturing relationships built on mutual respect and dignity. By prioritizing the well-being of others alongside our own, Humanism invites us to cultivate a more inclusive and equitable world—one defined by empathy, justice, and compassion.

The Power of Integration

What sets Humanism apart is its unique ability to integrate reality-based thinking with compassion-based ethics, forging a holistic approach to navigating life's complexities. By synthesizing these foundational principles, Humanism offers a powerful strategy for addressing difficulties, confronting adversity, and fostering genuine human flourishing.

In a world characterized by rapid change and uncertainty, the wisdom of Humanism provides a beacon of hope—a reminder that by embracing reality and compassion, we can navigate life's challenges with grace, integrity, and resilience.

Conclusion

In the journey of life, the pursuit of meaning and fulfillment remains paramount. As we navigate the complexities of existence, Humanism offers a guiding philosophy—one rooted in reality, infused with compassion, and committed to the pursuit of human flourishing.

By embracing the principles of Humanism, we affirm our shared humanity, cultivate empathy and understanding, and chart a course towards a more just, compassionate, and inclusive world.

So why Humanism? Because in its essence, Humanism represents the distilled wisdom of humanity—a timeless invitation to live authentically, love deeply, and make a positive impact on the world around us.

Learn More:

If you want to learn more - I have free and paid courses and resources at my website - Humanist Learning Systems: 

Video Courses: https://humanistlearning.com/category/lifeskills/philosophy/ 

Recommended books: https://humanistlearning.com/category/shop/humanism101/

Beauty in Similarity and Diversity

 Leslie Jamison wrote an essay for The Atlantic on an exhibition of the "austere" artwork of Donald Judd and how her daughter helped her see beyond her own question to understand the "meaning" of Judd's work and allow herself instead to "feel" the work.  To get a sense of his work, check out this photo below.

To be honest, I have no idea what this installation is called, but it's clearly - boxes.  

I know I’ve must have seen his art before, and thought it beautiful and interesting and also ... structurally pleasing.

But I also understand her query, "why?"  What is the artist trying to tell me or what statement are they making by displaying boxes, on the ground?   

Her essay (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/10/leslie-jamison-donald-judd/615505/) is about how she has pondered these questions over the years every time she has viewed his work and how she started to rethink whether she was even asking the right questions when she took her toddler daughter to a retrospective exhibit and her daughter was totally obsessed with the work and wanted to touch, everything and climb in and interact with everything, which is a problem because the art is actually really delicate.

The ending of the essay in particular is what I want to focus on. She discusses her new understanding of his work in the context of Covid. 

For instance, the above photo is a series of boxes, all the same, but all – slightly different. Like the passing of days in quarantine.

She talks about how embracing the beauty of life without holding on to it too tightly or requiring it to be something it is not is ... enlightenment.

I agree with this and that's pretty much how I go through live. I don't expect or require novelty. I actually like the sameness and the amazing diversity that occurs in the sameness of days.

My family's experience with Covid is that we have contracted quite a bit. We don't go out and when we do, we take out. But the lack of commitments we have, allows us to explore more. We have more time for mundane things, like biking around the neighborhood for exercise.  Even that, has diversity. Depending on the time we go, we may run into neighbors, or have to dodge cars, or maybe we will be out at the magic hour that the bats are out hunting for bugs. The days are all the same, and yet, all different. Noticing the little differences and taking joy in those little differences, does feel a lot like enlightenment. 

It's the same with humans. We humans are astonishing alike, and yet, totally different from one another. We all have the same basic emotional toolkit, and yet, our life experience are totally different.

It is a mistake to try and fit an individual human into a preset box. Trying to do so will result in failure. Which is probably why Judd's work has always resonated with me. All the boxes are basically the same and yet, different. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations. 

In a very oxymoronic reality, structure and templates provide the space for diversity to be created. To create novelty, we don't have to throw out our templates or what came before, we can create novelty out of the commonplace. 

My challenge to you, my fellow humanists, is to seek out the beauty of each individual human you meet. We follow the template for human, but there is infinite diversity in how we actually manifest as humans. 

Grattiude 2017

This has been a tough year for everyone. Emotionally, politically, economically and - well - just super stressful. Is there anything to be grateful about?  Yes. In fact, it’s times like this when we need to be grateful the most.

I say this a lot about compassion but it’s also true of gratitude. Gratitude isn’t something you do for someone else. It’s something you do for you.  It may also help the other person, but even if it doesn’t, it will definitely help you.

We humans spend a LOT of time in our own heads. We worry. We fret. We have angst and insecurities and doubts and fears.  When we take to the time to take stock of our lives, specifically focusing on the things that are good, a wonderful thing happens. We fret just a little less.  We remind ourselves that yes – life is worth living. That there is still some good in the world. And that fighting to protect what is good is worthwhile.  Not just for ourselves, but for others as well.

Motivating myself can be difficult at times. Reminding myself that there are other people and those other people are often really wonderful, helps me feel connected.  Yes, there is still hurt and suffering. But there are also people who give of themselves to make the hurt just a little less.

When I think back to the times in my life that were the most difficult, I also think of the people who cared for me enough to do little things that showed me they cared. This knowledge, that people care – even for total strangers. Is what love is about. It is the best of what humans are capable of.  It is inspiring and humbling and amazing and wonderful.

You all know I am not a big fan of the positive thinking movement. Positive thoughts don’t have magic powers. But consciously thinking about who and what you are grateful for, isn’t magic. It won’t magically make your problems go away. But it may just help you find the courage to keep going when the going gets tough.

My hope for you and all of humanity this holiday season is that we all remember that we are all in this thing called life together and the only thing that makes it bearable is the love we show to each other.

Humanism is to be Humane

The word Humanism has many connotations, almost all of them positive.

One of the connotations is that Humanism is to be humane. It’s about recognizing the value of other people and not only not hurting them in pursuit of whatever happiness you are seeking, but also – to treat them kindly, with compassion and to actually help. Humanitarians are humane, because they don’t just do no harm, they actively seek to do good.

This is consistent with how I understand Humanism in my own practice. Am I always humane?  I don’t know if I can honestly answer that question yes. But I do know it’s something I strive to do and be and that it’s an ideal I feel very strongly about.

When I think about the word, humane, I think about a human ideal. A humane person is a good person. One who is trustworthy and helpful in times when those qualities are most needed.

This striving for humanity and to encourage more humane behavior among humans necessarily has political, economic and social ramifications.  It shouldn’t matter where you come from or what faith tradition you are from or were from. The only way we get through this thing called life well, is if we are treated humanely. We have a responsibility to both give and receive as humanely as possible.
So go forth  - and be as humane as humanly possible.

Oh – and if you want – here is a podcast by someone else – about Humanism is to be Humane.  - https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/96924/humanism-to-be-humane

Why are people camping on the street?

Homelessness and Humanism – we aren’t doing enough.

Irfan Khan/LA Times

Last winter I took my son to Los Angeles.  It was a family visit combining dealing with my dad’s estate and visiting with family. As we drove into downtown LA my son suddenly asked me. Why are people camping on the overpasses?

I hadn’t really realized it because – homeless people are everywhere in downtown LA. But he was right. There were tents crowding every overpass. We live in an area that is semi-rural. Here our homeless have camps in the woods. You just don’t see them congregated like this on the city streets.  So my son hadn’t ever seen a homeless person where they “live.”

In LA, he saw the tents, and to him, tents mean camping. But why would someone camp in the street? It’s a darned good question. I’m ashamed to say, when he pointed it out my first thought was, at least they have tents. That’s a really nice improvement over what it used to be like.  But that doesn’t solve the problem. Does it.  It just makes homelessness slightly less sucky.

A couple of years ago my son did a summer arts program in Sarasota FL. I spent a lot of time in the downtown library waiting for his program to finish. There are a lot of homeless people that hang out in the library. I can see why. Its air conditioned. There are bathrooms and water fountains and you can sit down. Sarasota actually took out the benches in the park across the street to discourage the homeless from congregating there.  Apparently homeless people aren’t allowed to sit. Now, to be fair, Sarasota has done a good job of getting homeless veterans off the streets.

What I was reminded of that summer is that homeless people are first and foremost people. Many of them refuse to beg – they play music for tips instead.  That’s how this guy was discovered.

What I learned from hanging out there for a few weeks was that there are a lot of people like him living on the streets in Sarasota. Now imagine how many of the people living in tents in LA have hidden talents that they can’t make the most of because of harsh economic circumstances.


Yes, mental health issues are important. We need to start funding mental health care and care for the homeless. If not out of compassion then for national security/public health reasons.

But mostly – we just need to start caring. There but for fortune go you or I.

So what can we do? Besides being politically active to direct funding and aid to people on the streets? How about volunteering.

The Beyond Belief Network has volunteer teams all across the country. Many of them do projects to help the homeless. Find one near you – and volunteer. Make a difference.

https://foundationbeyondbelief.org/humanist-volunteering/beyond-belief-network/bbn-teams/

Seeing the Beauty of Humanity

Something weird has happened to me lately. I seem to see the beauty in everyone I meet.

I’m a normal human. At least I think I am. I have the same instinctual responses to physical beauty we all have. I look at people and am attracted and repulsed. Some people are physically beautiful and some people are not. Up until recently.

I took my son to an amusement park the other day and ... everyone there was beautiful. Everyone was radiant. Even people I know I would have viewed as “strange looking” before.  It was both an awesome and rather intellectually weird experience. Intellectually I understood that something had changed in me and that I was no longer judging beauty by physical appearances. Emotionally I felt consumed by love.

Imagine feeling like everyone you meet in life is beautiful and amazing. That was what my day was like. It felt great even as I was puzzled by the emotional response I was having to people.

This is one of those enlightened states of being you read about. Some sage has achieved enlightenment and they not only glow, the people around them glow too. Except this was and has been happening to me, in real life. The best way I can describe what this is like is that I feel like I am seeing people's inner beauty superimposed over their outward appearance. It's stunningly beautiful to experience. In fact, I'd describe it as transcendent.

I haven't tried to see people differently. In fact, if you had told me this was something to strive for, I'd have laughed you off as some new age woo peddler. What I’ve tried to do and practice is compassion and honesty and individuality. I try to see the individual in the individuals I cross paths with. And I think this is what created the change in how I see and interpret beauty.

Every person I meet is different. Like the leaves on a tree. They are beautiful in their uniqueness. Even the faces of people in the paper accused of committing crimes look beautiful to me. They are human. Flawed humans, but still human and still ... beautiful.

Seeing beauty everywhere and in every human is a new experience for me. I find I can’t stop smiling at people. I feel surrounded by love pretty much constantly, my love for others, complete strangers. It feels great.

I hesitated writing this post because I didn’t want to sound pompous or egotistical. But I needed to share it because it’s been such a profound change for me and how I experience life that I felt like I would be lying through omission if I didn’t share this.

I didn’t try to seek this higher state of awareness or whatever it is I am experiencing. I only have been seeking to consider the people I meet compassionately. It’s become such a habit that I’m now doing it automatically and that has changed how I see people for the better and in a way that feels fabulous.

I keep saying this. There is a reason every major philosopher and religious teacher throughout history has taught compassion. It’s central to living well. Having such a profound change in how I physically see people feels so overwhelmingly loving that I don’t ever want to stop seeing this compassionate beauty. I am more committed now than ever to the practice of compassion. It’s worth practicing. It really is.

I am not a number!

Why recognizing your employees as human matters

Engage Britain put out a great video called, “I am not a Human Resource, I am a Human.” I wanted to share it here to talk about the reasons why recognizing your employees as humans matter.





Humanistic business management starts from the premise that business is done by humans for humans and that humans matter. It is very easy to view employees as interchangeable cogs in a machine. People who are there to do what you want and need them to do. You are paying them, so that is the end of the contract.

The problem is that your employees want and need more and so do you. Humans are social animals. We need community. We need a sense of belonging. We need a sense of purpose. Anyone who gives us that will have our loyalty. This is why there are cults. Instead of denying your employees the opportunity to be engaged with their fellow employees and for the cause that is your business, why not help them feel connected and engaged. Stop viewing them as a human resource and start recognizing them as the very real human being they are.

This isn’t something you can fake. You either take the time to connect or you don’t. What will help you do this? Eleanor Roosevelt had the right idea. Treat all your employees as if they are volunteers. You and they will feel better and do better work if you do.

Have you ever experienced being devalued at work? How did you handle it? Bonus points to any geek who gets the title reference!

Humanity vs. Spirituality

My friend Mick wrote me the other day about his thoughts on Humanism.  He said he had been playing with the concept of humanity.  I liked what he wrote so much I asked him if I could share it here.

"It occurred to me recently that 'humanity' is a much more useful concept than 'spirituality'. Basically, the thing I would like more atheists to admit is that there are a lot of things, which transcend our understanding, and there always will be.  But the problem with the word "spirituality" is that it suggests a definition of what that transcendence is -- i.e. spirit.  A humanist, on the other hand, just says - I am facing the unknown as a human with all my limitations, but also all my amazing abilities. I do not have a God, or a lucky number 7, or any of that - just my humanity. I am willing to learn from experience.” - Mick

You can find Mick on youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/mickmle1 where he is known as the Fragile Atheist.

I am not a terrorist.

Saw a great movie last week that I think everyone should see. It is called My Name is Khan and it stars Shahrukh Khan as a man with Asperger’s whose step son is killed in a hate crime post 9-11. He and his wife take separate grief journeys. His is to tell the president that his name is Khan and that he is not a terrorist. His wife told him to do it and he took her literally.

Why I wanted to write about it is because it is a film about our common humanity and about love being more effective at creating positive social change then hate. It is a REALLY powerful movie. In his grief journey Khan is detained as a terrorist and tortured, becomes a poster boy for the discrimination against not only Islamic individuals in America, but for everyone who is treated as suspect because of how they look. He then goes on to save a rural black community in GA after a hurricane and mobilizes the entire country to act with compassion. And yes, he eventually does get to meet the president.

Admittedly, the story line isn’t all that realistic, but that doesn’t’ matter. Morality tales aren’t about how things actually are. They are about how things ought to be. This movie delivers that message with quite a bit of power and emotion by effectively contrasting how things are with how we wish things would be.

I left the movie with two thoughts. 1) Everyone should see this movie. And 2) I wish that it had actually happened. It would be wonderful if we as a nation had just such a wake up call that no - our neighbors aren’t terrorists just because the look different and worship differently then us. They are, for the most part, humans filled with compassion willing to risk their lives to save people different from themselves just because they care. I stand with Khan - I am not a terrorist. I’m a good human being and I care.

Our Shared Spirit of Humanity

Whatever you think of Obama’s politics. There is no doubt that his most powerful speeches are infused with pure Humanism. That is probably why they are so darned powerful and stirring to hear. His Easter message was no exception. In fact, aside from just a couple of mentions of public policy, it was as pure a statement of Humanism as you are likely to get anywhere. Here are the highlights.

“Remember the shared spirit of humanity that inhabits us all. … Let us hold fast to those aspirations we hold in common as brothers and sisters, as members of the same family - the family of man. … All of us value our health and the health of our loved ones. Our health is the rock upon which our lives are built, for better and for worse. … All of us value education. … Ultimately, education is about something more, something greater. It is about the ability that lies within each of us to rise above any barrier, no matter how high; to pursue any dream, no matter how big. … All of us are striving to make a way in this world; to build a purposeful and fulfilling life in the fleeting time we have here. A dignified life. A healthy life. A life, true to its potential. And a life that serves others. … These are aspirations that stretch back through the ages.”

He then goes on to tell a story about an Easter service held at Iwo Jimo 60 years ago. He quotes the chaplain from that service as consecrating the memory “of American dead. … Together they practiced virtue, patriotism, love of country, love of you and of me.” The chaplain said, “The heritage they have left us, the vision of a new world, [was] made possible by the common bond that united them…their only hope that this unity will endure.” Obama finishes with the following statement, “Let us remain ever mindful of the unity of purpose, the common bond, the love of you and of me, for which they sacrificed all they had; and for which so many others have sacrificed so much. And let us make its pursuit - and fulfillment - our highest aspiration,”

A Humanist couldn’t have put it better. View the entire speech here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/04/03/weekly-address-holiday-greetings

Dignity and Worth

This should go without saying, but everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. In fact, that is what recognizing each individual human as human is all about. It should not matter what someone believes, what color their skin is or how they do their hair. It only matters that they are human and have feelings and emotions just like you do.

We all have families. We all have dreams and desires. We all have likes and dislikes. We all bleed when we are cut. And we all have to pee and poop. We are all humans!

So don’t go justifying the poor treatment of your fellow man because they aren’t as human as you are. That viewpoint is just plain ignorant and at this point is getting REALLY annoying. So for those of you who are still bigots out there: GROW UP ALREADY!