To Truly Live

What does it mean to truly live?
Am I living because I’m breathing?
Just because my heart beats steadily,
my lungs fill and empty,
my chest expanding and contracting,
does that mean that I’m alive?
Am I alive simply because I can think
or because I can love?
Am I living because I can speak,
I can scream and sing?
I can cry and laugh and yell,
I can bleed and I can feel pain,
and my heart can be broken,
do any of these things mean that
I am living?
For without my heart and lungs
I would surely die.
But if I couldn’t think and dream
or love endlessly and openly,
what would be the point of living?
If I couldn’t
speak
or sing
or cry
or laugh
or bleed
or feel pain,
if my heart could never be broken,
then I would not be truly alive.
Living is not simply existing,
with a body full of functional organs.
To live you must express yourself
to the world around you,
let them know who you are,
cry when you are sad,
laugh when you’re happy,
you must get your heart broken
and recover
so that you can learn the lessons
of life.
What does it mean to truly live?
It means discovering yourself,
exploring what’s there
beneath
every forced smile
and ache in your soul,
and being the very best person
you can find it in your heart
to be.

Source: Hannah