Aliveness
What Does It Mean to Be Alive? Not “to survive.” Not “to function.” Not “to keep going.” But to be alive. It’s a question that slips past the medical charts and the calendars. It doesn’t ask how many breaths you’ve taken. It asks whether you’ve felt them. To be alive is not just to exist. It’s to respond. To notice. To choose. It’s the difference between a body and a presence. Between a schedule and a soul. Aliveness is not performance. You don’t have to be busy, productive, or impressive to be alive. You don’t have to be cheerful or strong or “doing great.” You just have to be here. With your senses open. With your heart engaged. With your mind not numbed by habit or fear. Aliveness is not constant. We drift in and out of it. We lose it in the rush. We find it in the quiet. We forget. We remember. Sometimes we feel most alive in grief. Sometimes in laughter. Sometimes in the moment we stop pretending. Aliveness is a practice. It’s in the way you greet ...