What's the best thing about being a human?

Superior cognitive abilities, pleasurable sex, and the luxury of using a real toilet :)

Reason.

I think it’s the very fact that we can ponder such questions. :)

I think the best thing for me is having had the pleasure and fortunate opportunities to experience so many wonderful events in my life up until now and the eager anticipation of getting to do so many more great things I want to in my future.

Uhh…best? I do know distinguishing thing!
There are many similarities between humans and other creatures. All do many things in common, all do eat, drink, sleep, have fun with friends and family, have sex. Humans could do these in a more sophisticated manner though. But, these doesn’t separate humans from animals.
Humans have thinking capability. If you see Bhagavat Gita and other religous books, you’ll find an answer to why this capability is bestowed upon humans. This capability helps us find answers to questions like who we are, from where we did come, why we did come here, what our relations is with God, and so on.

Free choice

Try as I might.. I can think of nothing better than @augustlan ‘s answer.

The fact that we have choices.

Our ability to love and be loved in all of its forms.

All the others taste delicious grilled with teriyaki sauce and a glass of wine.

the pain and suffering

The ability to make music, appreciate music and move to music.

I can choose. Choises of feelings, choises of filling the day. What to do after work.. All that stuff.

Our capacity for compassion. Without it, I’d hate to think what we’d do with our other “special” abilities.

From a highly subjective and biased standpoint, I’d have to say that reason is the best thing about being human.

To those of you who answered “free will” or something to the effect of “choice”, I would argue that our higher cognitive abilities only give the illusion of free will. You are really only capable of belaying your inclinations some of the time. But that’s a separate discussion.

Our ability overcome almost any obstacle no matter how annoying or intrusive.

I think it’s pretty awesome that we can overcome our primal needs and desires and contribute to something bigger, a society, knowledge, the advancement of ourselves and our species. We are more than the sum of our parts.

To love and recieve love in return.

The best thing about being human is the ability to realize that there are best things about being human.

opposable thumbs

Picking our noses and eating with spoons.
Also, all that love whatnot.

The ability to create art and culture.

Memory, and the ability to create stories we think of as “memories”.

POSEABLE THUMBS AND NO LEASHES

Busily posing my thumbs now.

Thought of another one on another thread.
Unlike the animal world (survival of the fittest) we value and protect the weakest among us, at least most of us do.