Human Nature

A question posed to defined qualities of our individual morality. Written in Senryu art form.

Human Nature

By

Carlos Lorenzo Estrada 

"Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.”

― Albert Camus

In God we believe 

But the devil we despise.

Who are we more like?

Author's Note

Thank you for reading this work. Feel free to share your thoughts.

Reviews

[Betty Hermelee]

Well, Since I'm not a believer in either, I would have to say that I'm more devilish...., willing to be a be a bit sly at moments, stick to my decisions even though they may be wrong..., but in fact I am my own person and nobody from above guides me.
Best, Betty

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Being agnostic I tend to think the same as well. I sink or swim by my own hands. If I screw up it's all on me, unless I can find someone dumb enough to take the blame, especially when farting in an elevator. Haha that's definitely someone else...of course it has to be. Thank you Betty for your thoughts.

[Betty Hermelee]

You're very welcome (that's just me) everybody is different ; thanks

[Fran Marie]

I think we all danced with
the devil at one time or
another..striving to be
good is difficult with
so much temptation
everywhere.
a nice senryu here Carlos

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you, Fran, for commenting on this work. I am in total agreement with your words. Even at mid 50 I can't seem to quit the devil. He plays the sweetest music at times and the temptation is just too impossible. Even though I'm a bad dancer he doesn't seem to judge my two horrible left feet. Hahaha thank you so much again for your thoughts.

[Fran Marie]

you're welcome;

[alanwgraham]

I think the answer is that we are a bit of both but the proportion varies from person to person.
Well done fot a thought provoking poem Carlos.
Regards,
Alan

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you, Alan, for your thoughts. I do agree with you are more or less both. With subtle or not degrees of separation.

[Chris Shaw]

I think Carlos there is good and bad in all of us. We all sin and I am sure that most have a good side to their character too.. If Jacob is like the latter, I would be more than happy to be in his company. Can't imagine him being a bad lad :)

Chris

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

I agree on all your sentiments. We are all fallible and imperfect. We can strive for perfection but it is against our nature to be perfect. We are only simply human in nature. It doesn't mean we are evil, because to me evil is a choice, though some have illness in which they are incapable of distinguishing right and wrong. We are simply prone to make mistakes and bad decisions. We for the most part live in the grey. The place of balance between these two forces. I'm so glad to see this work sparked conversation with my peers here at the Cafe. I always value the thoughts of other whether in agreement or not, as long as its constructive and civilized it is meaningful and productive. Thank you so much Chris for your thoughts.

[Chris Shaw]

You are always welcome Carlos. Your poetry certainly encourages comment and conversation. Thank you for that.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I am afraid I am more like the latter...the effort to be the other seems to often fall short.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

I too would be in your company, Jacob. I'm too damn old to ever seek, nor want perfection. As the great music composer Billy Joel once sang "Only the good die young." Thank you for your comment.

[Poetic Beauty]

I think each person will ponder this for themselves. Someday I am more sinner than saint and sometimes I am more saint than sinner.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you, PB, that is exactly the message this poem is conveying. It is totally up to interpretation for the reader to ponder how to answer this as an individual. There is neither a wrong or right answer. We are all simply fallible human beings. It is just human nature. Thank you for this eloquent and truthful answer to the simplistic riddle of this senryu.

[Poetic Beauty]

You are welcome. I think about deep things like this a lot

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

I actually rephrased this poem to better drive the point. I also enjoy deep thoughts as well. I just feel as a writer I take more joy challenging the reader to think then giving them the answer to the message. And I especially enjoy questions that can have many answers and views attached to it. Thank you again, PB, for your writers eyes in helping me refine this work to better fit the narrative.

[Poetic Beauty]

You are welcome

[mattavelli]

Hello, Carlos! :)
e pluribus unum. The devil is who we choose it to be, probably communist...
We are moody creatures, always wanting. That seems like the capital g god to me. Then again, sometimes we are sneaky getting what we want, and thats more like the little d devil. I imagine we can imagine ourselves as either of these imagined being as suits our feelings at any time.
We are animals. Everything we do is natural. The magic is just stuff parents tell kids to get them to quiet down or do their chores. Organized religions use the same magic for the same purposes.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Gee if I would have known this back when I was Mormon, Christian, Jehovah Witness, and Catholic it would have saved me a world of hurt, Matt. Hahaha. Now being agnostic I'm trying to look at this as objectively as I can. Perhaps there is a deeper meaning with the religious iconography standing in for the ideology of morality. Two dichotomous forces with humanity standing in the grey place between both. What internal force draws us to either side? Aspirations or malevolence? A capitalist society based on greed, or virtues defined by good deeds? I'll be honest in all my 55 yrs I haven't figured it out myself. I feel safe being in the middle. It's less complicated hahaha. Even though I wrote this I can't really understand its meaning because it could apply to other things than just God and the Devil. I believe it's more complex a question. That's why I love art. Two people could see the same thing but come up with two different answers and in the end neither truly being completely correct. Thank you my friend. You know already how much I enjoy our conversations.

[mattavelli]

We're very simple creatures. We want, then we act, then we want, then we act, on and on... And the whole time, we have feelings about those wants and actions. We know pleasure and pain, and we know when others are experiencing them, and we've built our society around limiting both those feelings, because we know balance keeps things running. Our society is built on selfishness. Every good deed is a selfish act, a want. There's no magic meaning. I say your purpose is to love, and your memories are the reward.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

." I say your purpose is to love, and your memories are the reward." What??? This isn't the Matt I know. I was expecting more pessimism with a somber final sentence. You must be a clone. Damn you science!!!!! Hahaha You sir are correct. Love is the only good virtue we have. Thankfully it is an abundant virtue. Thank you for the deep contemplative thoughts my friend. Now bring back Matt you clone. Lol

[mattavelli]

Pessimist? Ha… the Matt I know is pure hedonist. Join us, Carlos, we are pleasure.
What’s the difference between hope and worry?

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

My sanity haha.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

I fixed it to better give an open ended answer. And still fit the senryu style.

[mattavelli]

Write a sonnet. That’s 140 syllables for your expression.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

But I don't want to..no...no..(jumping up and down like a 5 year old then falling on my back and kicking up in the air while crying.) Ps...I actually did this in a grocery store just to piss my mom off. Unfortunately she didn't fall for it, and I doubt you will too, so I'll try writing a sonnet. But I don't want too....shush you, Matt says write one, geez whiz what a child a child I have to deal with in myself I swear.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Ps...ps...can I use "Roses are red" in the sonnet? I mean I'm pretty damn lazy and it would help me out doing that. It's so damn tough to write original content. Especially poetry. Ok...I'll shush i know I'm complaining too much haha.

[mattavelli]

We’ll be waiting. :)

[Olivia R.H.]

I love how you inspire so much thought in so few words. It's short, to-the-point, and powerful. Well done!

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you, Olivia, I really appreciate your comment. I try my best as a writer to ask questions of the reader, to spark conversation, share ideas, to talk on common ground. I so enjoy the thoughts of my peers on something I share. Because it opens us up as human beings. Shows how much more we are alike, then different. And there are perspectives that an other writer may share which I hadn't seen in the writing itself, and they become my better eyes because of that. Thank you so much again for sharing your thoughts.

[Olivia R.H.]

Glad to do so! I love how you talked about reviewers becoming "your better eyes" through their different perspectives. I used to never be able to share my writing because I was terrified of criticism. Having the mindset that you have is so freeing, and you as well as other writers continually inspire me every day to be more open-minded and contemplative with my creative pursuits.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you, Olivia, for this lovely comment. Even in my mid 50s I continue to be educated in my life by the art and words of others. I so remember when I used to dread criticism. It felt like being admonished for lacking skill or talent of any kind in writing. I took criticism so personal and to heart. Not growing from it but being angered by it. I could understand because writing is such a personal act and reflects pieces of us in our art. For our art to be criticized is for us to feel belittled and inferior or even lacking of intellect. But we prove how brave we are by submitting our work for the world to see. I come to believe writing like all art is subjective. Some will love it, while others will hate it. To me coming to recognize this fact was helpful in accepting criticism. I been writing since I was in my early teens and I'm still learning the craft. I will never consider myself a professional in the craft because I am always learning every single day by the art of others. They inspire me to be better, and in doing so I learn so much about myself as a human being. Never stop writing Olivia and be true to you. When you are your words will find a home in the hearts of those who love reading your art.

[Olivia R.H.]

You know where it's at, my friend! And thank you :)

[Relic]

I suppose the ideal characteristic would be to trust in God. However, we all go through a devilsh phase. I think life experiences determine if you believe in God or not. Looking around at the world, it's certainly a challenge to trust in God.

Do I hate the devil? I would say yeah. Do I trust...I do and I don't. It's always a struggle.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

I hear you there, Relic, life truly is a struggle. It's human nature for us to be imperfect. We are fallible beings, and there is nothing wrong with that unless it brings harm to others. Within our own ethics we try to make the important decisions to give balance to our lives. We can only hope it is the right one. It's what becomes a life defining choice, and experience regardless of outcome. Thank you again my friend for your thoughts.

[ExposedSiren]

I feel like you can only hate what you once connected with, and, on the flip side, you can only 'Trust' something that links with the unknown. Mayhaps it is a matter of what we know better, and thus actively seek to run from, rather than towards.
Thank you for sharing

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Very insightful thoughts. I think in life we at times fall prey to our own hypocrisies. Things once seen as virtue in our eyes later through maturation become vices. The loss of faith, trust, love, and morality along with other self defining qualities can shift with time and living and the education of wisdom. Though I know of some who continue to stay in unhealthy relationships or believe things that are against their own values. In the end I suppose life like art is subjective and interpreted by our own individual perspective. And the reason as you aptly put it "...it is a matter of what we know better, and thus actively seek to run from, rather than towards." Thank you for your insight and thoughts. I really appreciate the many perspectives other writers share because as one we at times only view our work by our own thinking.