Everyday Canvas

Non-Human Virtues in a Human?

Prompt: “Have the heart of a lion, the skin of a rhino and the soul of an angel.” Write anything you want about this.

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Two animals and an angel! Where’s the human who falters and goofs non-stop because of his own attributes?

If the human had the heart of a lion, this might mean he'd be a brave king or in other words a dictator who is courageous; if he had the skin of a rhino, this might mean he’d be impenetrable yet violent inside; if he had the soul of angel, I guess this could mean being immensely kind and good. I think this human would be a very confused schizophrenic type of a person because all those qualities can be in conflict within his psyche.

Let’s look at this from another point of view. Does this mean a brave person who doesn’t get aroused by anything, yet he is immensely moral, kind, and doing good all the time? My question is, if a person doesn’t get aroused by anything, how in the world will he know when to be brave and when to be kind and good?

Hmmm! I think I’ll take humans as they are, faulty, broken, defective, yet real.

Then, if humans weren’t as ludicrous and silly, what would us writers write about? It is the human fallibility that evokes an emotional response and makes great art.

What I mean is, as lofty as the quote sounds, when its words are taken at their face values, the meaning gets muddled, but granted, a little bit of each virtue could lead to a fuller life.