These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive...
So runs a popular song, but ever think about what it really means to be alive? What is alive? How do we define it?
There's the basic biological definitions, heart rate, breathing, brain function, but they have limit. It is possible, given enough money and resources, to keep a body "alive" forever. But, is it truly alive? I say no.
How? Come, I will lay it out, and I wager nearly all of you will claim at the end that it is better to be dead than to be how biology defines alive, so empty is that definition.
You are at a party. There's liberal amounts of alcohol present, and you've had a few. Little tipsy, but nothing major. End of the night, a mysterious man comes up to you, and reveals that he poisoned your drinks. You will die within 24 hours, guaranteed. But, he does give you a choice. You can go, and die painlessly the next day at midnight, just off like a light, or drink the second potion he has.
It's a PVS potion. It will reverse the effects of the poison, and you will live whatever lifespan that God has set for you, but you will live it in a permanent vegetative state. No knowledge of the world around you, no consciousness.
What do you do?
I take the last 24 hours of my life, and make them the best.
That leads to my definition of what it is to be alive.
A friend of mine is fond of a saying she saw- "To love is to live. I am still alive". I take that one step further. To love is to live. I am still alive. To be loved is to live well. I live well, indeed. The people who I've wanted to tell how I felt would know. Those I love would know I loved them. Then, I would truly be alive.
There's the basic biological definitions, heart rate, breathing, brain function, but they have limit. It is possible, given enough money and resources, to keep a body "alive" forever. But, is it truly alive? I say no.
How? Come, I will lay it out, and I wager nearly all of you will claim at the end that it is better to be dead than to be how biology defines alive, so empty is that definition.
You are at a party. There's liberal amounts of alcohol present, and you've had a few. Little tipsy, but nothing major. End of the night, a mysterious man comes up to you, and reveals that he poisoned your drinks. You will die within 24 hours, guaranteed. But, he does give you a choice. You can go, and die painlessly the next day at midnight, just off like a light, or drink the second potion he has.
It's a PVS potion. It will reverse the effects of the poison, and you will live whatever lifespan that God has set for you, but you will live it in a permanent vegetative state. No knowledge of the world around you, no consciousness.
What do you do?
I take the last 24 hours of my life, and make them the best.
That leads to my definition of what it is to be alive.
A friend of mine is fond of a saying she saw- "To love is to live. I am still alive". I take that one step further. To love is to live. I am still alive. To be loved is to live well. I live well, indeed. The people who I've wanted to tell how I felt would know. Those I love would know I loved them. Then, I would truly be alive.
posted by Tirithien at 8:10 PM
6 Comments:
:-)
Thanks. :-)
re. the Joe Nichols quote, are you trying to make me cry? ;)
Beautifully written, my love. :-)
Now the question is, exactly what would you do with those 24 hours?
It was not my intention to make you cry... :-)
What would I do? Anyone I loved would know I loved them, and I would beg the one I love the most to hold me as I passed.
Wow! Thanks for the invite to stop by. I'll make it a regular habit just so I can feel the beauty of the content.
brilliantly said.
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