Things That Make Us Feel Alive

Do it now. Seize this day and the next. Find comfort in the small space of a hug so that it feels bigger. Escape everyday now and then. Reach for the goal you once thought was lost. Rest. Dream today as if there will not be a day tomorrow… All these things that make us feel alive are priceless.

Living is not the same as feeling alive. However, it is not always easy to reach a state where we really feel alive. In this state, all your nerves wake up. Your senses are fully tuned at the moment. Everything is meaningful and harmonious. It is difficult to feel truly alive in a world that encourages us to have a passive and self-deprecating state.

We live in a place where we constantly feel that we are missing something. This condition makes us furious consumers. We are driven to try to fill emptiness with material things. This is because there is always something we long for, a different product, a different job, a more affectionate relationship, a trip to an exotic country… We believe that things will make us feel more fulfilled.

We are like square pieces of wood trying to fit into round holes. The focus is on the environment. We want to fit into it, but we forget that happiness comes from a very specific place. It is the place that lies just under our skin: ourselves. Our routine is simply to ignore the thing that really makes us feel alive: passion. 

To live means to get involved

One of the greatest risks to our happiness is that we live in a state of total passivity. We allow ourselves to be carried away by circumstances, and limit ourselves to just existing, but not to feeling. We sink so deep into our obligations that life itself becomes yet another obligation. Hope is then eliminated from our perception, and life becomes purposeless.

Let’s be clear: to live means to be involved. It means taking risks and acting even when you are scared. That means finding not one, but dozens of reasons to get up every morning. Sometimes, however, we choose the simple way: complacency.

We become complacent and happy with what we already have, even if it does not suit us or give us happiness. We do this because we believe that one bird in our hand is better than two in a bush. But when we open our hands, it is not even a bird, just a feather. It’s just a sad glimpse of what looked like a promise, but which did not really last anything. It was just a dream. A false security.

We cannot find the things that make us feel alive on a path that others are mapping out for us. We also do not find them in the safety of our comfort zones. To experience vitality and happiness that makes all sense, you must have passion. Stop thinking about what could have been (If I had, if this was, if he did…). Shop here and now. Take ownership of your steps in the present. Explore your reality and become the architect of your dreams.

The things that make us feel alive

Dare to fail. Try again one, ten or twelve times and yes, achieve success. Take a walk in the afternoon to bring new ideas to life. Do sports. Feel satisfied with a good job. A hand that reaches out when you need it most. A moment of loneliness. Company of friends. Build something with your spouse. Your hobbies and joys. A child’s laugh. Close one scene and start another with more passion and more fear, but also more strength.

The things that make us feel alive are the things that ignite our souls. They lay the foundation for our being, give meaning to our projects, are the cause of our behavior and give energy to our growth. Basically, these things must be present in our lives, otherwise our psychological substance begins to wear away. This leaves room for one dangerous thing: the feeling of emptiness and that life has no meaning.

Feeling this emptiness is the opposite of feeling alive. Therefore, we must be able to combat the feeling of emptiness when it arises. We do this by filling every nook and cranny of our minds with meaningful things. The father of logotherapy and survivors of several concentration camps, Viktor Frankl, taught us in his books that our mission as human beings is to find purpose. We should take responsibility for ourselves and for humanity in order to feel complete, fulfilled and free.

The things that make us feel alive are made of something invaluable: enthusiasm. Each of us must find our own purpose and be brave enough to fulfill it and make it our authentic daily passion. As Helen Keller once said, if you want to fly, you do not have to keep crawling just because others do.