Are You Living or Existing?

Are you intentional with life right now?Take a moment to think about your life at this present moment. Do you feel stuck, and it just seems like life is passing you by? Or are you living each day feeling happy and free while taking advantage of all that the universe is trying to give you? Your answer will determine whether you are living in this world or just existing in it.

What does it mean to exist?

As long as we're alive, we're existing. Existing is doing what you have to do to get through each day and that’s it. Nothing seems to bring much excitement into your life, you don't know what makes you happy, and you're often left feeling disconnected from God. Change scares you, so you try not to do anything differently, and the words, opinions, and ideas of others seem to dictate your reality.Existing in today's world could be waking up to go work a job that you hate, only to come home and do it all over again tomorrow. Existing could also mean living to please othersWhen we just exist in the world, our dreams are just that, dreams. Pure illusions of the life and things we want to have. We can’t see the possibilities and opportunities in our lives because we've trapped ourselves in the mindset of it being unobtainable or unimportant.

What is living?

When we are young, we are taught that we can do anything we want, but as we grow into adults, our mindsets shift from all the things we can do to all the things we can't do. Living is about never losing sight of the dreams we have for ourselves.We are able to embrace life and every changing moment that comes with it. We have the understanding that life won't stay the same forever, but as long as we remain connected to a divine presence, it's worth the challenges. When we are living, we are completely centered spiritually and choose to bring happiness into everything that we do because we know happiness starts with us.

How do you start living?

First and foremost, we have to reconnect ourselves back to a higher power. This can be done through dedicating time to nurture our spirit through things such as consistent reflection, prayer, stillness, and meditation.When you connect with your own spiritual self and with God, you really are grounding yourself in your deepest identity. This will both help you identify which dreams are worth chasing and give you the daily motivation to stay true to that dream. The irrational fears that keep us from progressing toward our goals seem very small when we get that higher, spiritual perspective.It’s up to us to determine what will be our purpose for getting up every day and what will keep us motivated through life. It could be a new business venture, a desire to become more spiritually fit, or even building relationships with others. We have to constantly seek our purpose each day to maintain a sense of fulfillment in our lives. The goal here should be to choose to do only what makes you happy and start filtering out the things that don't over time.Next, we have to take back our control from all of the external factors that we have allowed to tell us who we should be and how we should live. What others think, say or feel about us isn’t our responsibility and we can’t afford to allow it to dictate our lives. We are responsible for how we choose to live, our happiness, and our freedom. Not our parents, friends, or even our bosses.Lastly, how we start living involves shifting our perspective on life to be one that comes from a place of gratitude. Gratitude is a powerful skill for us to have, and it will always remind us of how much abundance there is in our lives. A grateful spirit can easily turn the bad into good and remind us of what's really important.When we become aware that we have only existed in life, we initiate our path to truly, living it. It can also be considered spiritual awakening. Everyone has moments in life when they may feel like they are just existing. What's important is that we continue to make a choice every day to focus more on what makes us happy, less on what others have to say, and move through life spiritually centered and sound.