The Fox

A fox slinked across the road in front of me. It was dark. It appeared for few moments in my headlights, in the rain. The fox knew I was there but didn’t have any time for my bullshit, too busy doing fox things It moved exactly as you’d expect a fox would move; it moved like a fox. Low to the ground, fast but steady, and purposeful. It didn’t second guess. It couldn’t. It wasn’t burdened with voices of insecurity.

Foxes move as foxes should because their hard wiring is more powerful (or at least as powerful as) their current software. Humans often do not act as humans should because our current hardware isn’t up-to-date with our software. Humans have the ability to choose how to behave. Humans can choose to act like foxes if they want, but the reverse of that isn’t true. No animals can choose to act like humans. Humans also have the ability to rationalize away naturally occurring behaviours. We’ve rationalised being naked as acceptable, and linked it to shame. Other animals aren’t ashamed to be naked. We rationalize away natural things all the time; body weight, physical appearances, emotions behaviours, habits. We decide that some of our traits aren’t natural when they are. You’re allowed to be sad, you’re allowed to carry some body fat.

We’ve used or over-bearing software; our minds; our brains, to falsely raise ourselves higher than nature. We’re apes in suits. We’re toddlers in New York. We’re self-are brains trying to understand themselves.

I’ve never seen a human act like a natural human. I don’t even know what that would look like. I’ve seen humans rationalize animal behaviour in human terms. I’ve seen people demonize human behaviour in animal terms. At some point along the way we forgot, or chose to stop remembering, that we are animals at our foundation. When we act outside of reason every now then it isn’t wrong. It’s chaotic for sure, but it’s natural.

Have you ever seen a fox act like a fox? Yes.

Have you ever seen a human act like a human?