Have you heard this? Maybe you’ve said this?
“Human!”
It’s a response to being called out for error, forgetfulness, and even wrong doing.
Sam came home with the groceries but bought the wrong kind of gluten free flour. His wife, Sue, had listed the exact one she needed for the dessert she was making to take to the family reunion for those members with dietary restrictions. Sam made an error. Sue was irritated.
“Human!” Sam defended himself.
Sam and Sue drove eighty miles to get to this family reunion. They remembered their lawn chairs, cooler filled with food and drinks, gifts for the grandparents, but they forgot the rare, old newspaper articles! Everyone was to contribute old family photos and newspaper clippings about Grandpa and Grandma from decades ago which cousin Martha was going to have digitalized to make into a family book. Sue was the only one in the family who had possession of the newspaper articles about Grandpa as a local baseball champion in his youth. Her cousin was counting on her. The articles were still where she placed them on her kitchen table. Sigh.
“Human!” Sue was mad at herself.
Cousin Martha lied. She’d been lying about it for years! Lying to herself, lying to her family and friends. Why? She did not want to face her financial reality. She did not want to change her lifestyle, so she borrowed and borrowed and borrowed money. Now, she was losing her house. She had to move. Martha unloaded her burden on Sue as they sat away from the rest of the family, near the old weeping willow tree they once played under as girls. The tree wept with them. There was so much to say, so much to face, so much to do, but what should Martha do?
“Human!” claimed Martha. “So true!” consoled Sue.
But really? Is it really human nature to make errors, to forget, and to do wrong? Can we sort this out?
Journey North Character 