# Perseverance and Stillness By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2023-11-27 Humans will go to extreme lengths for things that seem meaningless. Some may view this as a bug of humanity. Why waste energy doing something insignificant in the grand scheme of things? Why help someone else in need? Why not be entirely self-interested? Many people can only answer these questions with a reductionist view that one does these things because it is the right thing to do. Furthermore, what is "right" often carries many unexamined beliefs that go unchecked and noticed. This hand waving is like continuing to operate a car with the engine light on, but one covers the error light with some tape. Most eventually forget or are never informed that the tape is covering up the error light. Yet, most continue operating even when they know of the error light and have examined it extensively. Therefore, can one call this persevering behavior a bug? If everyone has it, it ceases to be odd or misplaced. Instead, it becomes an essential feature of humanity to continue and move on. The question is whether this is uniquely human or simply a requirement for life. I suspect it is both and many other things. How one finds comfort in the stillness of turning off the car for a minute or forever remains a quest worth pursuing. #### Related Items [[The Human Condition]] [[Purpose]] [[Life]] [[Behavior]] [[Perseverance]] [[Meaning]]