What does it mean to be alive?
Just finished watching yet another movie. This time, even more depressing than my last one. It was ‘The Marriage Story’. It’s a movie about the gruesome and sad process of a couple getting a divorce. A very realistic dive into perspectives of both people. It would’ve been better to get more insight into about how the male lead fell out of love. At a low point, he gets drunk in a bar and sings a song. Its called “being alive” at presumably one of his lowest points in life.
Makes me question,
What does it mean, to be alive?
Isn’t living everyday enough to feel alive. Or is it doing daily chores? Or is it doing what we love? We move from one thing to the next and most often times people fall in love with the idea of being in love rather than being in love themselves. Amidst all the chaos and emotional turmoil of figuring out what I want from life and what I want to achieve during my time on this planet, HOW DO I FIGURE OUT WHAT I LOVE in order to feel “alive”?
Feeling alive is presumably the adrenaline rush you get from riding roller coasters, jumping from great heights, and doing wonderfully dangerous things outside your comfort zone. That, my friend is what makes most people feel alive. Getting out of the comfort zone. Craving that rush is so dangerously addictive but that’s when most people describe as feeling “alive”
But that begs the questions of what it means to be in love with life.
Is being in love with life the same as being alive?
Life is simply living. The usual route. You’re born, go to school, graduate to go to college. graduate yet again, to get a job this time. Marry and have kids, so they could do the same thing while you grow old and eventually pass away.
Being alive means to be in love with YOUR LIFE. It may be even loving doing the mundane day to day tasks. Simply loving the morning sunshine warmth on your face. The smell of brewing coffee. the warmth of the coffee mug. The cool water splashing your face. The fresh feeling after a nice shower. The feeling after wearing an outfit you put together. Putting on make up, combing your hair. Things usually considered absolutely tiny insignificant things.
This all comes from the art of mindfulness.
Being aware and so in the moment that you get lost in the beauty of the simplest of things, with things of reality in perspective. Practising the art of mindfulness truly is a breath of fresh air from the continuous bustle of hustle culture.
Next time you find yourself completely flustered and trying to figure out how to feel most alive. Take a step back and analyse carefully, your surroundings, the sounds and beauties you were too busy to notice otherwise. Take a step back and breathe and let the beautiful air around you fill your entire being and may the warmth of the earth, life and all the beauties of simple existence overwhelm you with happiness.
So the conclusion?
What it means to be alive?
Comes from the simple art of mindfulness and that is,
Living in the moment.
take care,
Mehtab
