GLOBAL CONVERSATIONS

A New Way To Travel Around The World

“What Does

BEING HUMAN

Mean To You?”

  • “Being human is being energetically open to experiencing and connecting with other living beings as a fellow energetic force. Not just reacting to stimulus, but recognizing the life force right in front of us as part OF us. Life begets life. We are all one on this planet. Maybe even in the cosmos itself.”

    — Jason (Artist & Board Of Advisors Member)

  • "I think this is a very important topic - about being human - most especially at this time; the time we're living. I think we all need to be reminded about being human. When everything is okay with you and that person is hurting, stop by! You know? Help! Wouldn’t you want to be helped by someone else? Yes, you would. So do the same thing. That’s what being human means to me.”

    — Ikponmwosa A.; Part I (Author & Facilitator)

  • “I like these kind of questions, and what thinking about the answer leads to.
    This itself, brings me to the reflection that being a human being is the interaction of our consciousness and existence in this life. It is this privilege we have of being able to think and choose what we want to be, do, say.... But also part of the privilege is to be conscious, and with realistic ideas, of our existence and what it means in the existence of the everything.”

    — Roldan (Geoscientist)

  • "Being human means getting to be a part of one big consciousness, and one big mystery. It’s to know that through it all, we are all still in this together. To be human is to be compassionate to yourself just as much as to others. To gain new knowledge every day and be inspired by loved ones. To sit with the suchness of everything and wonder, laugh, cry, dance, scream."

    — Liana (Architect & Photographer)

  • “Well, the obvious answer is, aren’t we all just sentient, roaming carbon life forms? Aside from the obvious, being human is a privilege. A privilege to take accountability, to spread contagious energy, to learn one new thing everyday, to struggle and succeed, all of this is a privilege. And the reason? Because life goes by in a blink. We get to live on a floating rock that just so happens to be perfectly inhabitable for millions of species to exist at one time. All of this is such a blessing, yet one feels so incredibly in debt because of how lucky they are to just be present. Think about it, you could have been anything in this life: an insect that lives for a day, a stationary tree in a forest, a blade of grass on a shady hillside. Yet, you’re a human. YOU. ARE. A fully capable, intelligent, emotional, mildly handsome, human. And for that, we should be truly grateful.”

    — Alex (Hiker & Artist)

  • “Being human... really makes me think, think of the big picture and not just the small singular one world of each human. Sometimes to just think on things like a simple question as this.. makes me feel human. Just writing this out is making me feel human - more so than I have lately.”

    — Lucas (Dispensary Manager)

  • "When I am asked what it means to be a human, 10 million things pop into my head! Anything and everything from simply having the power of choice to experiencing the fabulous architecture of life through senses and being HUMAN! I think one of the most important moral principles of being a human is using the evolutionary marvel that a human is and progressing life forward, not just for humans but for the rest of earth and all its earthlings. After all, where would we be without earth?"

    — Ethan; Part I (Cannabis Farmer)

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  • “Being human means to me that no one is left feeling inhuman or inadequate, assuring that accessibility and inclusion is the goal at all costs!”

    — Matthew Maxey (Founder of DEAFinitely Dope)

  • “Being human to me is having compassion for other human beings. Such as smiling at someone, helping out a neighbor or like helping a stranger who has a broken down car. Just being able to put your mind to your desire if you want and create anything through art, music and technology. Those are some of the things that mean being human to me.”

    — Travis (Budtender & Patient Consultant)

  • “Being human to me means always trying to be optimistic and non judgmental. Optimism has gotten me a long ways. I used to be scared of change. But I now realize that is part of being Human. Without change, there is no understanding and without understanding there is no growth.”

    — Taz (Budtender & Patient Consultant)

  • “Being human means being perfect in our flawed nature. Being real and raw and enough at all times. It means to be connected to all things in inexplicable yet inextricable ways. To feel deeply, to love and be loved, to be vulnerable, to struggle, to need. Being human is a complex web of experience that underlies all of our journeys [and] is something we all share.”

    — Leah

  • “I am grateful for the opportunity to be human. As a human I am able to think about my place in the universe. I am able to imagine and create. I am able to feel and process complex emotions. But being human is not always good. The world would be a very different place if that were true. As humans, we are able to choose to be good or bad. We are not always controlled by our instincts.”

    — Dixie (Artist)

  • “Now for me being human means to be compassionate, empathetic... It means to treat others the exact same way you want to be treated. That makes us all human and that makes us all one. That's what being human really means to me: that we all show love, show compassion, show empathy. Put ourselves in the next person's shoes to feel their pains. That's how to be human.”

    — Ikponmwosa A.; Part II (Author & Facilitator)

  • "Being human for me means being flawed but learning how to embrace your flaws and the flaws of others; being compassionate, being present. Being human for me really represents being alive. In so many ways, there is so much life on the planet. The love of each other (or learning to love) and understanding that it's an evolution [...] you continue to grow and ideally things change for you."

    — Ieshea Hollins (CEO, CISO, Speaker, Author & Advocate)

  • “Being human means having a past story, a present story, and a future to be told. It is the ability to find wisdom and humor in our experiences and to develop an imagination. To be able to pretend is human. That ability opens up the arts. Music, Painting, Literature. Without stories and art we would not be human.”

    — Susy (Community Member)

  • “Being human means showing respect and appreciation for others, understanding that each human is uniquely different and each brings a unique perspective to life.”

    — Otha Smith, III (CEO of Tetragram) & Advocate)

  • “Being human is different everyday, it’s not static, it is fluid. When I strive to be a “good human” I focus on kindness, treating others with the same respect I desire, small actions in my control to make the world a better, more habitable place, and thinking of the future I am leaving for others. I try to have compassion and empathy.”

    — Lisanne (Public Library Librarian)

  • “Being human to me means accepting that we are flawed beings with blends of emotions that make us unique. We love, we create and we overcome challenges through our relationship with God and that is what makes us imperfectly perfect.”

    — Eboni (Author & Lifestyle Blogger)

  • “It’s being humble and kind. We are here to love and respect ourselves and all others. We are all different and all have our own busy lives but sometimes we have to know it’s ok to ask for that helping hand when we really need it[.] We love, we cry, we laugh and we celebrate each other. That’s who we are… We are humans!”

    — Caren (Budtender & Patient Consultant)

  • "Waking up in the forest after a nice small rainstorm and being smacked in the face with the smell of petrichor. Falling in love and being heartbroken then falling in love again. Exploring the mountains and far away lands with your family or closest friends. Choosing to volunteer for something you support and helping the community. All these things are just a grain of sand on the beach of being human."

    — Ethan; Part II (Cannabis Farmer)

  • “As humans, we are given the capacity to do great good, and great evil. To be human is to consciously choose what path we will follow. Which wolf will we choose to feed? We have those choices each and every day, each and every minute. What will we do with that gift and responsibility? Those choices are what makes us human.”

    — Laur (Facilitator, Advocate & Caregiver)

  • “Being human makes me think of words from Ram Dass... ‘We’re all just walking each other home.’ Being human means having many homes... we find homes in our families, friends, in community, in our passions, in music and the arts, in ourselves, the earth, in Mother Nature, in the elements... in life and in death, we're home.”

    — Lina (Founder of Advocacy Revolution)

To me, being human means to feel deeply, even when it hurts. To carry love and fear in the same heartbeat. To break and rebuild — sometimes daily.

It means to long for connection. We ache to be seen, to be held, to be understood. Even when we push people away, it’s often because we want them to pull us back in — just to know they care enough to try.

It means to contradict ourselves. To say one thing and do another. To want safety and adventure, closeness and space. To love someone and hurt them. Not because we are cruel — but because we are learning.

It means to laugh in the middle of grieving. To spill tea and say something so ridiculous it breaks the heaviness. Humor, even in tragedy, is a way our soul breathes.

It means to try again. Despite disappointment, failure, betrayal — we get back up. We write poems, send messages, hope harder. That hope is a sacred kind of courage.

And maybe most of all, it means to be unfinished. We are never done becoming. And that’s beautiful. Because it means we get to keep growing, softening, strengthening, and becoming more ourselves every time we choose love over fear.

So if you ever feel messy, complicated, too much or not enough — just know: That is being human. And you’re doing it beautifully.

(AI)