Don't Confuse Living and Being Alive

How aware are you of the world around you?
Do you take time to hear the song of the birds in the morning or the serenade of insects at night? Do you pause to hear the far off lonely sound of a train whistle? Do you stop what you’re doing to gaze skyward and enjoy a colorful cloud formation floating across the sky? When you see a bed of vibrant flowers that catches your eye, do you stoop to touch their soft petals and smell their fragrance?

Too often in life, we are rushing through the world, heading from one activity to another, unaware of the universe around us. We become so caught up in our personal activities that we confuse being alive with living. True living means we’re connected with the universe around and cognizant of it. Being alive is merely breathing and being functional, and often we erroneously confuse rushing from one activity to the next as living. It's not.

We all need to take time to pay attention to what is around us and make a connection to the world and the people in it. To live means seeing, sensing, and connecting with everything and everyone around us—using our five senses of taste, sight, touch, hearing and smell.  It’s taking time to appreciate our marvelous planet and its people. It’s also a wonderful way to squeeze in a few moments of calmness, awareness, and sheer enjoyment in our chaotic lives...and maybe share those moments with others as well.