It still feels like autumn..

What does it mean to be alive? To have breath? To be conscious? I personally don’t believe that is sufficient. Are you alive if you willingly let your life be controlled by something external to yourself? For example, your poloticians, the TV, a “lifestyle”. Of course, it is impossible for these things not to have an effect on you, but do you willingly give yourself up to these forces?

I would say, that to be alive, is to take control of your own reality, to have your own perception. What does that mean? It’s a fairly personal thing I guess, but for me it means coming to my own conclusions about what my senses percieve, and more importantly, the feelings outside of my five senses. Like I mentioned in my previous post, knowing why you do things is vital.

PKD has a fantastic, slightly different definition: “The authentic human being is one of us who instinctively knows what he should not do, and, in addition, he will balk at doing it. He will refuse to do it, even if this brings down dread consequences to him and to those whom he loves.”

So, are you “born” through some sort of revelation, or is it “in your genes”, or can you earn it yourself? I’ll save another post for that…

“Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore it if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own minds.” - Emerson