By Katia Del Rivero

The Difference is the Essence of Life

Do you have a plant close to you? Please, stop reading for a second and look at it with observer’s eyes. Are all the leaves the same?

Before you answer yes because they look alike, look at it again. Are all the leaves the same? Exactly? No matter what plant you are looking at, I’m sure the answer is no. 
 
How do I know? Because there are not two equal elements in nature. Since they are in different places, they are not the same, even if they were identical (which doesn’t exist).

We, human beings, have 99.9% of similarity between our ADN structures. This percentage varies in our comparison with other animals or living beings. For example, we share 96% with a monkey and about 60% with a banana. It may look like we are similar, right? Well, NO!

It’s marvelous and significant. This .01% makes you unique. Michael Blumenstein used to say “nature likes differences.” From what we observe, it seems like it.

And Human Beings?

Opposite to this, it looks like human beings don’t like the difference. We feel more comfortable in similarities, and we even build “normalities.”

We’ve “normalized” behavior, education, performance, intelligence, relationships, likes, good things, bad things, morality (now that it’s a trend), values, leadership, weight, health, thinking, etc.

But, what is normality? The word “normal” in its Latin etymology means ruler or a carpenter’s square. With time it changed, and now we use it to name a reference, a guide.

And here comes the important thing, who establishes this reference? Statistics. No other than it. When we talk about “normal,” we mean “of a natural state.” It’s not that it comes from nature, it just seems more common.

Why do we establish “normals” in life? To feel safer. So our brains can focus on surviving basics.

If I consider shouting normal, I won’t pay attention, unless someone shouts. If I feel people using free time for work normal, I will choose to “ignore it” (most times in an unconscious way, until we understand how we deal with the world to survive).

Where’s the Heart of the Matter?

When instead of something statistical we transform it into good or bad, correct or incorrect. And we give what’s conventional, a judgment call.

And I talk about the heart of the matter because when I mean wrong something that is weird to me, I invite my brain to feel in danger. And when that happens, it does what it takes to survive.

The reason is quite simple. Brain, just like nature, likes the difference. It finds it attractive, interesting. Unless it’s not a distinction anymore and turns into danger.

What Can We Do?

Wake up every morning, and look at the differences. The sky is never the same. The tree’s leaves are all different. The colors of the sky every dawn surprise us. Temperature is never like the day before. Look at all of these, and then look around and focus on that human being that looks bad, wrong, awkward, and remember that… it’s only different, like nature.

And just like nature, life builds upon difference, not similarities.

This article was inspired by this Pictoline image.

Recommended Posts

No comment yet, add your voice below!


Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *