THE HUMAN SOCIETAL STRUCTURE

Long time ago, when man and woman’s earliest ancestors were trying to figure out his and her existence on earth, they realized a couple of things. 

First and foremost, they had an impeccable ability to recall information. Memory, which was their greatest asset, helped propel the early human species further up the evolutionary ladder. This primitive human species was able to identify suitable habitats such as caves to escape predation especially during the nighttime. They were able to identify certain animal species such as smaller mammals and birds, and hunt them as prey for food using tools made from sharpened stones. At some point, they realized that they could also survive on a plant-based diet, and they ultimately became omnivores to diversify their diet.

However, as much as human memory did prove to be a revolutionary product of millions of years of evolution, the modern human being of today understands that there are several consequences to an unchecked mind. At the beginning of our reign over the Earth, we viewed our brain as a mere tool. A tool that was kept out of our sight so much so that we barely thought about what would happen when it ultimately feels ‘unwell’. However, the brain is not your ordinary tool. It works independently, yet every single organ in our body is fully dependent on it. The brain’s sole function in our body is to assess events, gather and store memory and ensure that every single component of our body is working to keep us alive. 

It is ludacris to expect a single organ to carry out all these tasks, without a break here and there. For the human body to function optimally, the brain needs to be able to carry out basic functions such as breathing and observing environmental awareness. And as a result of this, we began a cycle of activity and inactivity. The activity cycle ensured that the brain was aware of the surrounding to avoid predation. While the inactivity cycle gave us a break from the constant battle for survival. This cycle helped our mental ability to improve while consequently making room for increased mental capacity during the course of our evolution. This was the beginning of the sleep cycle. However, it is likely that early man and woman adapted this habit from observing other species of animals.

If you look around, and assess every single part of the human societal structure, you will realize a pattern. Human beings are among the most intelligent species to have ever walked on Earth. Our ability to adapt to environmental changes has ensured our survival countless times before. We have escaped the clutches of predation by larger animals by living in organized groups such as families in which every single member has an obligation to look out for the other. We have built structures such as houses to isolate ourselves from the outside world, ensuring our safety regardless of outside hostility. We practise agriculture and cattle rearing to ensure food security while consequently storing food in the event of famine. We send our children to school to nurture their young minds by introducing them to various educational levels, each one more difficult than the one before. And for those who wonder about existence in general, there is religion to direct our fears and worries to a Supreme Being, while we remain hopeful that our existence was worth it in the end. 

The human societal structure does not exist by accident. It was put in place, hundreds of thousands of years ago to ensure that we continued to thrive on earth. Entertainment means such as movies, games, sports and other recreational activities were put in place to make sure that we were not always trapped in the reality that our minds, through memory, created. They were created as a means of escape to the sad and sometimes cruel reality that is ultimately called life. However, just as anything else in life, the overindulgence of various aspects of the human societal structure has its own disadvantages. If its purpose was as a means of escape, then its overindulgence would bring about a certain disconnect between humans and the experience of life from a raw human perspective. It is crucial that we realize a balance between the experience of life and the human societal structure which we have created. It is important that we experience life not only as a part of a collective(human beings) but to also have a personal and more intimate experience of life as an individual being navigating through this part of our entire journey. 

It is not enough to say you were here because of your contributions to the human societal structure because society will continue to progress whether you add to it or not. And oftentimes, our contributions to the structure will only be regarded to be of high value if enough people exalt us publicly. We need to find a balance, and ensure that there is growth in the individual before the inevitable progression to higher experience.