"You Didn't Earn That"

This post by Hive account@logic got me thinking: Why do we as a society believe that people who were born with brains or brawn, and exploit those assets for their economic benefit, have "earned" their way in the world, why those who were born with beauty, and exploit that asset for their economic benefit, have not? Do we really think that intelligence or eloquence or brawn are any less a function of DNA or social class or "luck" than...beauty?

One person is born beautiful and gets upvoted in life as a result. Another is born eloquent and gets upvoted in life too. Neither "earned" it. Neither "deserves" it. It's just luck of the genetic or social lottery, that's all.

Sure, maybe the intelligent person went to school and applied herself. Does that mean she has "earned" her subsequent living? No, at least no more than the beautiful one who spent equal amounts of time grooming, staying fit and studying make-up tutorials to look his very best so that he too could earn his way.

We identify with intelligence and articulateness more than with our physical bodies simply because we irrationally believe that "we" are ultimately immaterial--that "we" are an inner essence, an inner intelligence, a soul that is separate from our material flesh. Consequently, we seek to take credit for the former and can be easily dismissive of the latter. However, once we abandoned the illusion that we have an immaterial essence, as science suggests we should, we can take no more credit for "our" brilliance as "our" beauty, "our" stupidy as "our" ugliness.

We are not our bodies. And we are not our minds. We deserve credit, or blame, for neither. Give that, how about we cut ourselves, and each other, a little more slack? How about we celebrate the exceptional among us in whatever form it appears? Life's a lot more fun that way.

Photo credit: Me. Subject: Hive account@steemed-open.