The Animal Inside: A Journey Through Our Humanity
We like to think of ourselves as rational beings, governed by thought and reason, walking the earth with a sense of purpose. We pride ourselves on being humane, conscientious, civilized. We have opposable thumbs, walk upright, speak in layers of meaning, and dream in colors and vast landscapes. But when life unravels, even slightly, a different side of us surfaces—the part that’s more beast than human, raw and untamed, lurking just beneath the polish of modern life.
In the face of fear or loss, we’re suddenly clawing, biting, grasping for survival, just like creatures of the wild. It’s a strange reminder that, deep down, we’re still tangled in the roots of the primal past, moving through a world we’ve dressed up in civilization, but which is still, at its core, untamed. There are traces of this untamed spirit in each of us, a memory from some long-forgotten time when the earth was the only home we knew, and survival was the only language we spoke.
But maybe there’s a beauty in this animal nature, a strength we often overlook. That primal spark within us is what makes us seek warmth, find comfort in another’s arms, form tribes and bonds, share in moments of simple connection. Our animal instinct draws us to the things that soothe our wild edges, that remind us of belonging. In the moments when we feel caged, stifled, or trapped, there is still a part of us that longs to be free, to break out and run wild. And even when society hems us in, that instinct reminds us we are never fully confined; our spirits find ways to wander, to break beyond the borders of the world we know.
In each of us lives a small, fierce creature, a reminder of where we come from and, in some ways, who we still are. But there’s something else, too—something that sets us apart from the rest of the creatures who share this earth. We have the gift of feeling, of dreaming, and of loving. Where instinct might push us to only survive, it’s our humanity that teaches us to create, to grow, to reach out even in the darkness, to evolve beyond ourselves.
So, let us celebrate the beast within, not as a force to tame but as a spark that adds to our richness. For while we may be creatures of both the earth and the stars, it’s our embrace of the primal alongside the profound that makes us human. We are each other’s keepers, guardians of the delicate threads of humanity woven through us. And even as we howl at the moon and root through the unknown, we walk hand in hand, forever growing, evolving, reaching towards something brighter.