Imagine a massive room, the size of a city. This room is pitch black. There is no light whatsoever. The only source of light is a single flashlight which you hold. You are here alone.
As you walk around this endless space, you discover all sorts of things. Perhaps you are pleased to find a table set with all your favorite foods. A while later you may come across an exquisite library, full of ancient texts. Maybe you stumble across a collection of complex machine structures, seemingly operating on their own accord.
After what seems like endless wandering you discover a community of people. These people are full of joy. They extend a friendly greeting, offering to let you stay with them if you please.
The only issue is that, you can tell, they are dismayed by your bright light. See, these people have built their entire community around glow sticks. Noticing their discomfort, you accept the glow sticks they offer you. You turn off your flashlight.
You stay with them for a while. Although it takes some time for your eyes to adjust, its very nice to have company. But at last you must be on your way! There’s no telling what else there is to discover in this massive room.
As time passes, you become more and more familiar with this city-sized room. You are pleased with all the things you’ve discovered. The only nagging wish is that you could find a brighter light. It’s impossible to fully orient yourself and map out the landscape with only a flashlight….
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I think that this is what it’s like to be human: to have a human mind, human memory, human awareness. The light of our being is bright! We can explore, uncover and discover much. The problem arises when we believe that we have entire room mapped out. Because of the vastness of the room and the limits of our flashlight, it is inevitable that any picture we form will be incomplete. It would take a much brighter light and greater sense of awareness to hold the full vastness of such a place in our understanding. Hence, our humanity.