Are you living or simply breathing? This isn't a trick question. It is obvious that the only thing that qualifies you to be biologically referred to as a living thing is to be able to breathe in and out. If you are accomplishing this, you are alive.
But I have experienced times when I was breathing alright but not living! What I was accomplishing was surviving. I had no drive, a battered self-esteem, confused values, and short of being moral. I was not pursuing any worthwhile ideal, not planning effectively for my day and the days ahead, and not envisioning a life of social relevance and impact. This isn't far from death to me. But that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to live everyday of my life!
There are many people who fall into this class of breathing but not living. If you want to know if you fall into this class you must be sincere enough with yourself to tell yourself the truth and also be courageous enough to face the truth when you tell it to yourself.
If you are both sincere and courageous then lets proceed to answer the 4 questions of the living-dead:
1. Do you have a present vision for your life? Without a life vision living becomes an unbearable trek down a lonely road. This is because human beings are creatures of purpose and what truly keeps us alive is the hope that we have a worthy assignment to do and that we will do it. People that have no life vision are often suicidal (given to frequent suicidal thoughts and actions) and also act in ways that suggest other people's life isn't worth living.
2. Do you have goals in every aspect of your life - financial, spiritual, family, health, career, vocation? If our human experience can be likened to the Atlantic Ocean, then our lives are the mighty ships on the Atlantic and goals are the rudder (steering wheel) of the ship. Just like without a rudder a ship will never successfully navigate the vast Atlantic Ocean to any intended destination, without goals our lives will move aimlessly in life's journey! You must have goals to live!
3. Are you doing something daily towards achieving your goals? To achieve your goals you must do something about them daily no matter how small that thing seems. Taking actions towards your goals is like taking steps towards a far destination. One step often seems insignificant in major treks but when you keep taking those steps you will eventually get there!
4. Are you socially relevant? Finally, human life isn't designed for isolation. We need people and people need us. Imagine waking up one morning to discover that you are the only person in a thousand kilometers radius of your location. You will certainly not be calm or even sane! To move from just breathing to living you must be socially relevant. Give a part of you to your society. Share yourself. Make your life significant to others. This is what is meant to be truly alive!
