Admire

It’s important to remember that the point of admiration is inspiration. That’s inspiration, not imitation. It’s difficult to discern the difference. Humans are primates and primates have a system of mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are part of the system we have evolved to help us understand other people’s experiences. Mirror neurons provoke emotions in the viewer. When the system is working properly, the provoked emotions are like the emotions of the viewed. Thus, mirror neurons are the biological foundation of empathy.

This is a necessary and useful part of the system we have developed to maintain social structures. Even those of us who feel like hermits couldn’t survive if we’ve never been conditioned by society. Humans have too many degrees of freedom for that. Too many options to respond to the impingements from the world. We need to imitate before we can become inspired, thus lighting the candle of others’ inspiration.

The way to distinguish imitation from inspiration must be a function of the emotions. If the imitation provokes upliftment, joy, bliss, peace, it becomes inspiration, and then admiration follows.