Living Deeply
What does it mean to live deeply? Every morning I write the sentence. I am here to think globally, act joyfully and live deeply. But, how will I know that I am living deeply? Living deeply implies an ongoing process. It cannot be broken down into S.M.A.R.T. targets. It also implies that since I am currently drawing breath — living — it is something that can be attained imminently, and something more than that.
The living part is rather all encompassing. I am living, if living is a classification. Bacteria are also living. When the scientists look for life on other planets, they don’t expect to find walking and talking creatures. They hope to find protozoa, at least on those planets close to us. From a scientific perspective, living things have seven fundamental characteristics. Although, there is some controversy, the seven features “include the ability to grow, reproduce, take in and use energy, excrete waste, respond to the environment and possess an organized structure more complex than that of non-living things.” I am scientifically living by 9:00 AM after I exercise, shower, eat breakfast with my kids, and get dressed according to the latest on The Weather Network. I take a deep breath and am grateful for my life.
When life is looked at philosophically, things get a little messy. I think the living deeply is more of a philosophical approach. There are many camps. The crux of my interpretation is whether living matter requires consciousness. For me, living deeply requires consciousness. It requires conscious choices.
To live deeply, I reflect on the idea of knowledge can be gained widely or deeply. To know wide would be elementary school learning. We learn a little bit about many subjects. We talk about a well rounded education and object when music or art, or spelling, are removed from the curriculum. The internet encourages us to accumulate wide knowledge. Links passed to us from newsletters, colleagues on LinkedIn, acquaintances on Facebook, or suggested viewing on YouTube, can have us looking far and wide.
Deeply requires love and passion. A masters or PhD student require the dedication that comes from loving a subject enough to dive deep into its exploration. I imagine that living deeply is diving so deeply into life that you are immersed in its passion and love. It takes practice and study to get a PhD in living deeply — to be open to exploring life’s experiences whatever they are and wherever they take us.
Every morning when I write live deeply, I need to pause and reflect on those words because living deeply cannot be done by rote. It needs to be learned everyday and taken in, like a breath. My morning mantra has become inhaling “deeply” and exhaling “living”.
Living deeply will not be a someday goal. I will be able to experience it imminently, today.
Also published on www.nancysteinhausen.com.
