Are you "A.L.I.V.E"?

I often wonder what would be the best way to prove to yourself that you are actually "alive". Here is a simple test:

A: Actually breathing?? (duhh!)

L: Listening to your heart??

I: Interested in following it??

V: Valiant in sticking to it??

E: Excel in what you choose and Explore other interests??

This might be an over-simplification, but it does capture the essence of the whole concept of being truly alive. 

If you find yourself interested in arts and crafts, but you find yourself far away from it, you might be killing a part of yourself. While we do a lot of things just for survival, there has to be some time reserved for yourself. Your "me-time". So, ask yourself, how much of "me-time" did you have yesterday, last week or last month. In fact, don't stop there. Also ask, if you actually spent it wisely listening to yourself. 

Was there an ice-cream sundae, you really wanted to enjoy, but just gave up on, for xyz reasons? Was there a guitar or a violin lesson that you imagined you could take, but didn't believe you could manage? So, decide now, which one of these are you actually 'interested' in following. There might be a lot of crazy ideas too that your heart might suggest, but you dont have to listen to everything that it throws at you. Pick only those ones for which you would be ready to fight till you make it to the end.

Once you excel in something, you will be a capable contributor in that sphere of activity and the world will recognize you. With real recognition, comes the ultimate feeling of being alive in this dense crowd around you.

Simple? Silly? Crazy? Whatever! I warned you with the title of this blog!