What is the difference between being alive and truly living?

1. 47

   Ashish Dadgaaposted 7 years ago

   What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
   
   

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2. 88

   Carolyn M Fieldsposted 7 years ago

   I am intrigued by this question. Let me see if I can put my thoughts into words. Just breathing, or just being alive, would mean sleeping, eating, digesting, eliminating waste, and repeating that cycle. You could even throw in some form of passive entertainment, like watching TV. So, you'd wake around 10 AM, after sleeping for 12 hours, get up and have something to eat, watch TV, eat some more, watch more TV, eat some more, and finally go to bed. That is not living - that is just existing. To truly live, you would need to produce, create, contribute, etc. You would need to interact with your environment, learn, and grow. That would be the essence of it.
   I am curious to see what others have to say.

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   1. 47

      Ashish Dadgaaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      @Carolyn,
      Wow very nicely expressed your thought. I agree with your answer as truly live is we need to create something. We need to share our bit in this world. We need to share our skills, strength, and knowledge with others.

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3. 66

   Tusitala Tomposted 7 years ago

   This depends very much on how you FEEL about your life and is completely subjective.   It has everything to do with attitude.  According to Neale Donald Walsch, in his Conversations with God books, we are at our optimum when we are envisioning our grandest version of our greatest vision and working towards that, whatever it might be.   In other words we are 'succeeding' in our life.
   
   Now, even success is open to personal interpretation.   I like the late Earl Knightingale quote:  "Success is the progressive realization of a worthwhile ideal."   Note that word progressive.   It means we are always 'in it' not, "I haven't got there yet," or "Oh, I succeeded in that, now what?"
   
   The greatest 'worthwhile ideal' harks back to what I wrote earlier:  "the grandest version of the greatest vision' of what you can be.
   
   Put yourself into that sort of state of mind and you will be 'really living.'

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   1. 47

      Ashish Dadgaaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      @Tom,
      Excellent answer tom.
      
      Thank you

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4. 84

   Terrielynn1posted 7 years ago

   For me just living means to only take in what you need to survive. No passion, no feelings or excitement. Nothing to show you really feel alive, not just surviving. I feel alive when I Do activities with my family, write here, paint, sketch, ride horses and show iam thankful to be alive. Plant, harvest and enjoy my life on our farm to its fullest. Some winters I must admit there are times when I just exsist. Thankfully not this year.

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5. 70

   manatita44posted 7 years ago

   Being alive is Consciousness (Spirit)
   
   "That which does not exists cannot come into existence.
   That which exists can never cease to be." -Gita.
   
   You can only ask this question because you are alive. If you weren't, then what does it matter?
   
   'Truly living' is in being aware of this Consciousness and obedience to Its Will.

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