There’s a difference between living and being alive and you’d be surprised at how many people are just breathing through existence, like human plants. Many are in fact touted as models of society — The oilers of economic engines, earning scrap paper working jobs they don’t care about and buying shit they don’t need.
Rinse . Cycle . Repeat.
Rise and shine, today is another shitty day!
As a species that thrives on collectivism, we are conditioned to follow rules designed for us to be domesticated docile meat bags. Even in the western world where individualism is championed, there’re still limits to personal expression. In short… the bigger picture trumps personal agendas.
People breathing through life, or “Breathers” lack personal direction in life. They could be super successful and have life’s indicators of success: McMansions, wonderful families, lotsa dough and expensive vacations to overcrowded sardine deathtraps. They pursue lives society tells them is the ultimate ideal.
“Breathers” are not confined to any particular social group nor is it a permanent state of being. Everyone at some point is a “Breather”. It could be the times you were lost for direction, stayed in a job for the sake of the money, or your ambitions crashed so spectacularly you lost all hope. It’s living simply for the sake of living without meaning. Some people zone in and out of this state, but for some unfortunate souls, it will be the way they live till kingdom come.
Contrary to what we were told, we don’t need to be Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates to have a life well lived. More often it’s those who have the least materially that lives the most. Our drive to “do big things” and “reach for the stars” has fucked more people than it helped. Take a look around and see the swath of disappointed souls that “failed” in life. They exist all around us: Our friends, family…take a look in the mirror, it could be us.
We have been conditioned to chase standards set by others, instead of what matters to us. People who would be just fine rearing chickens and plowing fields were told to chase a “high standard of living” — Living in congested cities sniffing bad air, wasting time stuck in traffic, dealing with assholes in jobs they hate and buying shit they don’t need. They would live their lives doing what they’re told confusing it with what they want to do.
As the confusion is their reality, the void within them eventually erupts into an existential crisis. Some lose the will to live. Some may even contemplate suicide. They essentially stop giving a shit about themselves and give up on life. Their spirit goes, followed by their appearance and health. They are alive and breathing but take a look into their eyes and you find a shell without a soul.
People who live well have a strong “why” to their existence. They have personal directions and are excited to wake up every day in spite of the challenges. People like that have what we call “charisma” and “positive energy”, and it’s very contagious. We are drawn to such people because deep down we yearn to live just like that.
To achieve this state of living we only have to be truthful about how we want to live and decide to do it. It’s about being honest with ourselves. Whatever we pursue is towards a directed goal and it could be anything from being a billionaire, a freelancer, end world hunger to rearing chickens in the countryside. It’s having a destination in mind and figuring out how to get there. Without a destination, we’ll have no reason to move, if we don’t move we stay idle, if we stay idle we’ll eventually rot.
Take a moment to forget what you were told how you should live. Imagine what it’d be like to live the life of your choice. A life of your choice is a life worth sacrificing and fighting for. It’s a life that you’d be happy facing adversities and obstacles for and still come out with a smile because it’s a life that’s truly yours. You will face ups and downs, fail and change directions along the way, but that’s ok because that’s life and most importantly it’s your life, your story.
Living this way is what being alive is about and maybe its time to ask if you’re living or just breathing?
— — — — — — — — — -
Originally posted on https://microtonallife.com/are-you-living-or-just-breathing/
For more essays and articles, please visit my blog: https://microtonallife.com
