A character in Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions is called a "machine made of meat."
At the other end of the spectrum, one spiritual teacher calls a human being "an immense spiritual force barely contained in a physical form."
The first description seems to me to be unnecessarily base, and the second a little too exalted. Each description overlooks essential aspects of our being and character that the other provides.
I prefer the perspective offered by Professor Jacob Needleman in his book Why Can't We Be Good?
We are free to be--and are obliged to strive to become--beings through whom and in whom the highest energies of consciousness and eternity blend into a unity in relationship to all the forces of earth and passing time.
Another way to say this is that we are where Heaven and Earth find each other and become One. I like to think of us as the sweet lingering kiss of Heaven and Earth.
There are many developmental practices that can help us to integrate in our selves, and to express in our daily lives, the Absolute and the Relative aspects of Being. These practices can help us to relax, heal, and blossom as we remember who we really are and consciously seek to become more and more of what we can be. Click here to learn about some practices that I enjoy myself and offer to individuals and to groups.