The illusion of being rational

We like to think ourselves as rational beings, in charge of our lives, making rational decisions to move us forward in life.

But from the moment of conception, we are creatures of randomness. We are, even before birth, being formed by the behavior of our parents. Then out we come, and for a handful of years we are imprinted with a set of behaviors, beliefs and values even before we are cognizant of what's happening to us.

We build unexpected relationships with people, ideas, words, images that slosh around and bang into one another so fast we can't keep track of how they are constructing us.

We are impacted by the images of dreams and movies and TV that come to us and through us, some sticking and seeding. We are benefactors or victims of the culture we are in, all of its traditions, expectations, inoculations.

We are constantly at the mercy of chemicals, in the air, in the water, in our food. And the chemicals in our bodies. The hormones that surge through us and wash over our brains and exit as emotions or mental illness or disease.

These are the creatures we are. We try to mediate ourselves with religion, moral and ethical codes and laws. These are necessary but have their limits. But in the end, it's acceptance of and compassion for the wildly complicated nature of the human condition we need most.