Do we know what it is to live? We say we’re living. So we
should be masters of life. What does it mean to be alive?
It looks like a lot of routines and useless everyday tasks. We
call it the ordinary life. But by being alive we mean none of
those moments of gray days and sleepy mornings. For us to be
alive is about experiences and moments that stick out from
the ordinary—something to remember, no matter whether it
was for good or bad. Nietzsche wrote about his own life and
marked that his weakest moments were his greatest moments.
They made him stronger.
Our greatest moments are the ones where we have experi-
enced something meaningful. They have taught us something
about life, about its sadness, sorrow, beauty, joy, anger, hatred,
love, happiness, or freedom. These lessons usually do not
come easily. Many times it means that we have to break out of
the ordinary, safe life, and we can be caught by surprise.
Experiences require us to extend our limits—come out of our
safety zone. (Otherwise they would be part of our ordinary
lives.) Sometimes stretches are giant leaps that hurt us deeply.
On the other hand, some experiences happen out of
nowhere, where we can just enjoy the beautiful moment with
total harmony like a sunset on a perfect summer day. There
are no expectations, and we take life as it comes, with no fear
or stress but just with curiosity and open-mindedness—like
in a holiday trip.
What are the moments you’re the most proud of? For
many, these moments are ones where we have done some-
thing that we believe was the “right thing to do.” Something
noble, humble, unselfish—almost heroic. We were not think-
ing about ourselves, we were acting for a greater good.
Hollywood movies, fairytales, and novels are full of these sto-
ries. They resonate in us and give us a good feeling. Somehow
it’s built on us and is universal. Is that to be truly alive and the
purpose of life? Or is it called love? And what if love, life, and
truth are just different names for the same purpose, and our
journey is to get to know them by living and experiencing.
This is the original text, and an edited version can be found in the Fragments of Reality -book.
