Humanity’s Beauty and Risk

Book excerpt: We experience beauty and risk on a daily basis: in what we see, what we feel, how we accept and judge others, and why we are human. Beauty and risk both challenge and frustrate us to think, learn, listen, and question ourselves. Humanity’s Beauty and Risk is an exploration of that challenge. One part poetry and two parts philosophy, this text explores the stages of human development: Infancy’s Dictums, Toddler’s Structure, Childhood’s Truth, Adolescence’s Love, Adult’s Maturity, and the Higher Self. Readers are guided to be fully present, aware of where they are and what they are doing, and to question what they think they know about these two captivating states. This mental exercise can be practised on a daily basis, making us more aware of how and why we experience, feel, and accept beauty and risk in our lives. When we reflect on those experiences, we think about what makes us different—and what makes us human.