When You Know You're Alive

I drove over the hill yesterday and saw a young woman sitting on the side of the road where rocks are piled that support the road but occasionally drop into the valley. She looked at the passing cars with what looked to me like hope and expectation but also a little uncertainty.

I do not know the woman but I know her look (I don't know how she felt).

Did she realize that she knew she was alive? Today, I may feel sick but I know that I'm alive. No matter whether we're dreaming of being late for work or having a good time fishing, no matter whether we're performing the same task for the thousandth time, when we realize what we're doing we know we're alive.

Only when we know we're alive can we do something about our lives. That's why it's important to feel your emotions and not bottle them up. That's why it's important to have your own thoughts and not somebody else's because only you can live your life for you.

I read books, I listen to people, I watch movies, I go to sporting events, I talk to people, I observe nature - I do all these things because I want to see what our world is all about and laugh at the incongruity while joining others in joy. I am alive and want to share every moment with the rest of the universe.

I am not alone. We are all alive. We have all found ways to enjoy ourselves, both individually and in groups. I am not interested in changing your way of living. I am only interested in enjoying with you what makes you feel alive. It's hard to have a good time together if one of us thinks we're asleep or dead. The more we're alive, the more we help each other live. Focus and concentrate on life. Life's not always fun but we're alive to make changes, if we want, starting with what we think and do.

I don't know the woman who sat on the side of the road but I know I love her and want her to know she's alive. No matter what's going on in her life, she has the belief, the ability and the right to make any changes she wants to make. We all do.