Do you ever wonder what it means to feel alive? The answers are endless. To feel love, happiness, life. To engage in activities that may put that life in danger. To do something that makes another person’s life worthwhile. Perhaps leave a mark on the world. Nobody really could agree.
But to me, feeling alive is everything and more. We were made of this earth, coming from humble beginnings and ancient ancestors. We, as humans, have come a long way, and are progressing even further. But with the hundreds of billions of those before us, how can we not help but feel insignificant? I’ll tell you how. You have to recognize that you are unique.
Each and every one of you is someone special. You may not feel that way. You may seem plain, or boring, or nothing special. You may feel like in a face in the crowd, one out of too many. But nobody is you. Nobody. Even if you know someone that’s “just like you”, they aren’t. Everyone is different. We all have something special about us, something that makes us who we are. Maybe it’s a hobby, a trait, maybe it’s a certain view on something. Like your finger print, you are as distinguishable, important, and remarkably different than any other human being. But there has never been, there isn’t, and there never will be another you.
As we lay awake at night with only our thoughts for company into the long hours, we are aware of who we are again. Just for a moment. That moment some choose to ignore. Some don’t dive the deep into their minds. They ignore it, saying, “That’s a little deep.” That’s the point. To go deep inside of ourselves is to find ourselves again. The brain is where you exist in your body, where all of your life is contained. Your memories, your thoughts, your entire existence. And by looking through your experiences, you can discover something every human looks for. Yourself.
Your thoughts, your dreams, your ambitions. Each of these are extraordinary and spectacular, and should never be looked down on. A mechanic, a teacher, a sports star. Any and all of these dreams are awe-inspiring. If you do what you want to do, there is nothing more dazzling or sensational than that. Everyone plays a role in the big scheme of things. It doesn’t matter if you’re smart, if you’re talented, if you have natural skill. If you work for that dream, nobody can stand in your way. You’re unstoppable, a force of nature, someone to be reckoned with. And you will change this world. You are the somebody that you want to be. Even if you affect one person, then your job is done. You can never tell where your influence stops.
Even something as simple as a smile. A smile can make someone feel better, do better, and become better. Maybe you picked up someone’s dropped item. Maybe you were there for a friend. Maybe you stopped for someone on the road. Each action you take has an immeasurable ripple effect. Be kind. Be Conscientious. Be the person you would want others to be to you.
There will always be other that will tear you down. Always. Some people in life don’t want to face their destiny. They don’t want to work for it. They find it’s easier to propel themselves upwards by stepping on others. They will snub you, talk down to you, maybe even bully you. They will try and crush you, to make you stop believing in yourself. This is a truth, and always will be. They will try and snuff out the fire in your heart, to tear you down so that you don’t succeed. Since they won’t find their way, they don’t want others to either. But you can’t give in to them. It’s what they want. They are jealous of your fire, of your zest, of the desire to move your life forward and be alive. It sound cliché, ridiculous to the extreme. But it’s a certainty. They want what you have, but they aren’t willing to make the effort. So they go for the next best thing: Destroying it. But you don’t have to let it bother you.
You have the control of your life, the reigns to all you want. But you have to want it, you have to want it so bad that you’ll do anything to make it happen. That hard work and persistence is what separate people who are just existing, and who are living. Existing is getting up each morning, doing what is the norm, believing you don’t deserve much in life. Many people are just existing. But to live is something else. It’s to try and better yourself every day. It’s to work towards what you want relentlessly until you have it, and then working towards something else. There is never an end. There are accomplishments, and milestones. But when you get done with one dream, you find another. And the cycle repeats. This is part of living. Always having hope. Always having a hunger for life. Always having a dream. If you do this, those dreams will become your reality sure as the sun rises every morning.
They say that human beings all share the same experiential platform. Our bodies dictate the way we move, but we dictate our bodies. We can decide to do what we want to. We have to control ourselves and move towards the future. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the ride.
Life is short, short enough that we have to cherish it all. Every single second. I’m not saying you can’t watch five seasons of your favorite television show. Or that you can’t just take a day to sit around and laugh with friends. No, to live life you don’t have to do these extravagant things in people’s eyes. You don’t have to skydive. You don’t have to go volunteer in a foreign country. You don’t even have to do something as big as go on a mountain climb. To cherish life isn’t to go to extremes. These activities are an excellent experience for those doing them, but they aren’t what everyone wants. Cherishing life is about enjoying what time you have. Loving whatever you’re doing. That day with friends? You created bonds that may last a lifetime. That season of that show? It changed your perspective. The old saying is that the little things in life are the important ones. This can be true. If you are doing something you want to do, if you are deriving pleasure and happiness from whatever it is, no matter how small or big, it is worthy of your time.
You’ll have days where you have work, or homework, or a dentist’s appointment. These things don’t immediately bring about the happiness you want, but they will give you something later on. The small satisfaction of it being done, a promotion, good grades. Maybe that tooth ache stopped hurting you. The moments you don’t want to do the most often lead to the things you love the best. This is the hard work required to feel alive and content.
Being human may seem like a curse, and in ways it is. But through the right lens, it’s most certainly a blessing. To feel the way we do, to have our emotions like no other is something so splendid and amazing that we, as humans, have been a chance to experience. It hurts sometimes, to feel so strongly, but the satisfaction in life makes up for it. You may have days that are full of such despair it’s like being in a whirlpool in the ocean, always fighting to get out but being sucked it. You can spiral down into an abyss where you just would rather feel nothing that what you are experiencing. Yu can cry for hours, days, weeks, even years. These moments are the hardest times to be human. But they are what make us unique. To really appreciate happiness, we have to have had experienced sadness. To know what one end feels like we need to other. Once we’ve been hurt, crushed, sorrowful, we can appreciate the happiness. The days where we want to fling our arms wide and run through the grass while the breeze whips across our faces. To laugh and soak up the sun, to feel each ray warming your face and the feelings warm your soul. To feel like your heart might just burst because it can’t contain your joy. Our lives work like this.
For every negative emotion, we can match a positive one. If we want to be happy with living, we have to make the effort to match our emotions and neutralize the bad ones. You don’t have to forget them. Bad experiences are part of what makes a person themselves. You are your experiences and feelings. But you have to learn to not focus only on the bad. For every coworker getting a promotion over you, remember the trip you took to the beach. For every breakup, remember a memory of a loved one and you bonding. For every twisted ankle, remember the ocean mist drifting across the beach rocks and wetting your face with a cool breeze. Even if it’s difficult, if you can’t seem to find one, look deeper. There is always something there.  We are programmed to cope with these situations. We have memories for a reason. Everything can be the way it should be if we look at it right.
It’s funny the way perspective can change our lives. If it rains out your concert, you could make it negative. Say it ruined the day for you. But having a group of people share something with you, even if it’s just complaining, could have made it better. Some things may seem only negative, like losing a loved one, but you have to think about them differently. You can miss them, you can be sad, you don’t have to forget them. But on the days where it hurts the most, think of the times you’ve shared together. The days you spent in each other’s company doing something wonderful. You can be sad and happy at the same time. They want you to live your life. They want you to succeed. They wouldn’t want anything other than happiness and joy in your life. Keep them in your heart, and it will help you move again. Get up again. And start living.
That’s what we’re really made for. To reproduce, in the simplest terms, but so much more than that. If that was it, we would be just like any other animal. We are here to have the time of our lives, both metaphorically and physically. To have those feelings, to have those experiences, to have everything that makes us human. To do what we want, say what we want, feel how we feel. To not be restricted by any society or “rules” someone made up. To show the world how glorious and powerful we are. How unique we are. To show the world that we can do anything. To prove the people that tried to get us down wrong, to show the disbelievers that you, yes you, made something of yourself. That you lived to your fullest extent and always had a dream. That you have made yourself who you are. All because you’re human. Because you can. Because you’re alive.
These things are but a few of many that people suggest. I am only a human amongst billions before and billions to come after. But I am me. I am doing what I want to do. I’m not very far yet, but I’m trying. And I’ll continue trying. And I’ll always follow these guidelines. I may mess up a few times, succumb to the pressure, but I’ll dig myself out again. I will persevere. And I will put in the effort. I hope that you say this to yourself too. We owe it to ourselves and those around us to continue being us. And we will do this because we care and we want, no, we have to have something. That one thing. And this is the only way to get it. The essential human experience. Because after all, we are just looking for that one thing.
To feel alive.