Next Level Human (Part 2)
The Antidote To Asshole
Two lions are wandering the grassy planes. One is a wise and powerful male, and the other is a young, strong, courageous adolescent. They are hungry and tired. They have been wondering for days, looking for food for their pride. They are getting desperate as Game has been nowhere to be found, and the local water supply has been running low for weeks. They need to find nourishment quickly; otherwise, they will not be able to survive themselves, let alone save the other lions in their pack.
As they round a narrow trail near a parched stream bed, two large rodents accidentally wander into their paths. The rodents freeze, paralyzed with fear. The adolescent lion leaps to action without a thought, but to his surprise, he is immediately knocked to the ground and pinned down by his elder peer. “Don’t you make another move,” says the mature male to his younger companion. The young lion is confused, and so are the rodents.
The older male then turns to the rodents, apologizes, bows his head in reverence, and says. “thank you for the work you do.” The rodents, now understanding the wise lion's respect, bow in kind and respond, “And thank you, sir, for the work you do.” They then continue towards the dwindling creek.
As the rodents disappear, the adolescent male howls in anger and frustration, “how could you have let them go!? That was our dinner! We are kings of the jungle. What’s wrong with you?” The older lion turns to the other lion and says, “We are NOT kings of the jungle, my young friend. We are subjects of it. The work of those beavers makes our lives possible. So, too, does the honeybee and myriad other animals who fill their niche and do their job so that we can all thrive. We are not separate from the cycle of life we are an integral part of it. Never forget we don’t own this jungle we are merely part of it. The water that will come from the work of these beavers is the only way we can survive. And we, too, contribute to their survival. We live in an ecosystem, my young friend. All of us are kings, and none of us are. We all must simply play our role. Destroying those beavers destroys ourselves.”
This parable illustrates a universal truth Next Level Humans understand that is completely lost on base level and culture level humans. We are no better than and no worse than anyone else. We all have a unique place in the societal ecosystem. We all have something we can contribute. We must play our role and protect others so they can play theirs. When we refuse to play our role or keep others from theirs, we destroy the ecosystem we are a part of. This is why we all must create our purpose and never keep another human from generating theirs.
This is how Next Level Humans view themselves in relation to others. They do NOT see things as a vertical hierarchy prioritizing their individual autonomy and needs over everyone else’s. Nor do they see themselves as group members, championing group identity and position in a pyramidal infrastructure. They are both individual and group and seek to seamlessly merge the two. As discussed previously, the next level human state is one of integration. They can hold both their individual nature and the nature of their group affiliations in their awareness simultaneously. It is a mental state that prioritizes individual autonomy right alongside group identity.
To a Next Level Human, groups make up individuals, and individuals make up groups. In this way, Next Level Humans will always fight to uphold the individual rights of individuals while also understanding certain groups and the individuals who make them up must, at times, also be prioritized. They act in accordance with this integration principle always. They don’t see themselves as individuals or group members. They see themselves as both.
It is neither a vertical nor a horizontal hierarchy. It is a holistic ecosystem. Think about an ecosystem with all its moving parts. The birds eat the fruits, then fly and disperse the seeds, and the beavers build the damns providing space for the frogs and turtles. The wolves kill the deer, providing food for the vultures. The snow melting, the seasons turning, and everything flowing in a seemingly perfect harmony.
This is the way Next Level Humans view society. It’s a human social ecosystem, and each individual within it has a unique role to play. No single human is better than any other human. No one group is superior to another group. Each human is immensely powerful, and each is nothing special simultaneously. Every human has the capacity to touch other humans in a particular way that causes insights to be learned, lessons to be taught, and creations to be shared.
There has never been another human like you ever on this planet. Nor will there ever be. The same can be said of me. This is true of every single human we share this world with.
Putting one individual or one type of group above any other is pointless. We all depend on each other. We are all in this together. The destruction of one group destroys another group. The stifling of one individual creates obstacles for all individuals.
I will talk more about the elegant balance and undeniable logic of all this in posts to come on the Next Level Human philosophy. But you may already notice echoes of these sentiments in many philosophies and religions. We humans are simultaneously individuals and members of groups. In the end, we are all members of one big human ecosystem, each one playing their role as individuals, within groups, and with the whole of the human organism.
Elevating any individual or group above any other individual group is a violation of the next level human law of integration and only leads to one outcome— mutual destruction. We are both individuals and groups simultaneously. Failure to integrate self and others is a failure to thrive and assures individual insolvency.
The Antidote to Asshole- Escaping base level behavior
George doesn’t intend to be an Asshole, but he comes across as one to a lot of people. The issue has to do with his level of convenience. If he has eaten and is not hungry, everything’s fine. If he’s hungry, he becomes easily annoyed, his tone changes and his responses become short. He is not quick to compliment anything, yet he loves to be on the receiving end of compliments. If you have a playful dog, you will watch as George annoyingly pushes it away.
When George drives, it’s as if he believes the entire world of car owners is out to get him. He drives combatively, not letting others merge by closing the gap in front of him and speeding up to keep another driver from effortlessly passing. If you are out to dinner with him, he can quickly become unpleasant to the server, especially if something is wrong with his meal. He tips the minimum and is the last to pull out his card if the meal has been shared by a larger group. He has no problem letting someone else pick up the tab but will be the first to itemize the bill if you are dining in a group with him.
You likely know people like George. He is not a bad guy. But he is base level a lot of the time. And this illustrates the best way to spot base level behavior and the easiest way to assess your own next level tendencies. When under stress or inconvenienced, base level humans go base level. Because the base level state is largely a protective reflex, any situation of stress, uncertainty, or inconvenience brings out.
Driving and internet use are two of the best ways to spot base level behavior because both situations allow a degree of anonymity and/or protection. In the case of the internet, you can hide behind an avatar that may not even be your own. In the case of driving, you are surrounded by a steel cage and have the ability to drive off in any direction. Remember, culture level norms are a moderating force for base level humans. If someone knows they will be labeled or seen in a way that may hinder their ability to get ahead, they will hide their true behaviors and be the exact thing required for them to get what they want: safety and power.
These hidden base level behaviors are critical to watch in ourselves and others. They tell us all we need to know about others and ourselves. As a Next Level Human, the intention is to be the good in the world. To take care of self AND others.
I have another friend, Ben. Ben is the guy who smiles and gives compliments whenever he is in a long line at the coffee shop, which slows down the pace of life. He is not giving compliments to look good or gain status as a people-pleasing culture-level type might, he is doing it because he really likes the color of the shirt that person is wearing and is also aware that by letting the person know that, he can lift his mood while simultaneously making another feel good.
Ben likes to make eye contact and smile at strangers. Again, not to be noticed, but simply because he can, and he feels the world could use it. Again, it is not a selfless act, he gets something out of it too. It’s simultaneously for him and for the other person.
Unlike George, Ben is the first one with his card out at a shared dinner and enjoys picking up the tab. Once again is not the over-the-top bragging of a culture level good deed, it is simply what he enjoys doing. He is all about creating meaning and making memories for himself and others. He cares about meaning and memories more than money.
George has a few friends, but ironically, not that many. In fact, very few. His closest friend happens to be Ben. The reason is that Ben is one of the only people who can tolerate George. He sees George's positive aspects and knows that George similarly approaches the world from the base-level family he comes from. The influence Ben has had on George has been immense. George has become more patient, more giving, more complimentary and easier to be around as a consequence of being friends with Ben.
Ben was once asked why he is so patient with George. He said. “I was raised in a house of love, George was raised in a house of survival.”
And this is the nature and power of being a Next Level Human. I once had a friend of mine tell me, “Jade, I know that when I walk out into the world, I am an experience. Other people experience me in the same way they may experience a meal, a cup coffee or an exhilarating ride on a rollercoaster. So, when I go out in the world, I am conscious about the experience I want to give others. I know that the experience of me is a unique energetic signature that I can bring to others. So I intend to make that experience one of kindness, generosity and connectedness.” This was one of the clearest ways I had ever heard anyone articulate what it means to be a Next Level Human.
Not only are each of us an experience in the world, but we are also an example for the world. When Ben shows up the way he does, what do you think happens? When he leaves a line he has been waiting in, when he opens the gap in traffic to gladly let someone merge, when he interjects kindness and charity into a nasty social media thread, and when he purposely makes contact and smiles at a stranger walking by, what do you think happens? The space is better for everyone who will step into it after him.
If he is kind to the Barista, do you think the barista is more or less likely to be kind to their next customer? That stranger he smiled at, whether they smiled back or not, you can rest assured they felt it and are far more likely to smile at someone else in the next few minutes.
This is how Next Level Humans show up in the world. They know they are an experience and an example, and they consciously and gladly do that work. Not to look good to others like a culture level type, and certainly not to manipulate someone to get what they want like a base level type, but rather simply because they are able to.
In the simplest of ways, Next Level Humans can nudge the world towards beauty, light, and kindness. They know this and take this job on for the rest of us. They are the antidotes to asshole and make the world better for self and other simultaneously.