In fact, if you think about it, most days, we barely even notice them. This is because most of our time is spent acting rather than being fully alive.
That’s a problem because when we act instead of being, we aren’t living in the fullest sense. It makes us feel like half-alive people who aren’t sure whether they should be excited for tomorrow or dreading it.
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist,” Oscar Wilde said.
Life is an experience. You either accept it or resist it. Each choice has a significant effect on your happiness. It’s also a journey of growth, where we learn and become better versions of ourselves.
But it can also be something we go passively through without realising it. For some people, this growth process is apparent right from the start; they are constantly learning and growing as they go, while others may feel stuck in certain areas of their life.
The quest to understand life and its purpose has been around as long as we have. Today the same question persists: what does it mean to be fully alive? It is one of those philosophical questions that can never be answered definitively. However, there are some major themes that most thinkers agree on when asking this question.
There are many ways to view life’s journey, but one way that stands out above all others is the concept of being ‘fully alive.’
When you are fully alive, you choose to live life to its fullest extent; you’re fully engaged in every aspect of your life and taking full advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.
You’re engaging with the world around you and learning as much as possible. Every experience means the world to you. You don’t take things for granted or perceive life casually.
“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life,” Henry David Thoreau said.
Being fully alive means being open to all the possibilities of your existence and exploring every part of yourself until you find what makes you come alive. By doing so, you’ll experience a more positive and fulfilling life.
It means you are living your life with purpose, reason and authenticity. It also means you are connecting deeply with the people in your life.
When we are fully alive, we experience true joy, fulfilment, meaning and connection. Life is about so much more than just surviving — it’s about creating an authentic life that truly matters to you.
It also means embracing both your pain and your joy, learning to focus on things you can control and letting go of everything outside your control.
“To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man’s-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again,” explains Pema Chödrön.
Authentic living also means creating space for other things equally important in your life but often left unnoticed.
Feeling alive is the secret to a fulfilling life, and feeling fulfilled is the key to a meaningful existence. A sense of aliveness arises when your mind is engaged with something that excites you, challenges you, or brings you new perspectives on life.
Meaningful living focuses on the aspects of your life you value the most and wants to spend the most time doing. The key is finding what aligns with your values and aspirations, both now and in the future.
Active living > passive living
“I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive,” argues Joseph Campbell.
The shift from passive life to active living requires some profound self-inquiry and intentional action on your part.
Deliberate life habits inventory helps you figure out the type of active lifestyle you want, what activities will bring fulfilment and what skills are necessary to accomplish your life goals.
The key to finding one’s meaning lies in understanding what you value most and how your actions align with those values.
The secret lies in surrendering to the present moment and embracing everything around you — from nature to relationships with friends and family.
Start here:
- Appreciate the small things in your life.
- Pay attention to the details around you and note or repeat what makes you happy.
- Look for opportunities to be grateful for everything that’s going well in your life.
To fully come alive every day, be conscious about how you spend your time or what you schedule on your calendar.
“If you want to be happy, you have to be happy on purpose. When you wake up, you can’t just wait to see what kind of day you’ll have. You have to decide what kind of day you’ll have,” says Joel Osteen.
The importance of consciously choosing how you spend your time and what activities, adventures and relationships fill your space cannot be overemphasised.
To live a meaningful life, we must be fully alive and fully aware. We cannot be half-heartedly engaged with the world; we cannot just go through the motions.
Everything we do needs to be done from our best selves, not from a place of apathy or indifference. To be fully alive, we must align ourselves with what’s truly important in our lives and give the most value to the people around us.
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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