Life, and defining it

If I were writing a thesis or paper, this title would be either laughably broad or irritatingly coy.  Thankfully, this title does not belong to a thesis, and I can throw terms like "Life" around without being razzed by academics.  However, a discussion of this sort must have some method of defining its parameters; thus, I will define "Life," for the purposes of this post, as both the universal, physical state (i.e., a tree is alive) and the particular way in which human beings use it in a cultural and interpersonal catch-all (my life is great/horrible.)  So let us consider the question: what does it take to be "alive"? 

The physical state of "life" is undoubtedly defined and debated by scientists, theologians, and naturalists in myriad ways which they will cheerfully argue about.  To me, it's a question that has a simple answer.  The answer, however, simply gives rise to countless more questions, which are beyond the scope of anything I can hope to address.  To me, "Life" is a state of being in which one possesses something that can be taken away without the erasure of the form.  Let us take two examples: a stone and a fern.  A stone, when cracked into many pieces, simply becomes many stones; the stone does not "die," it simply divides into separate and unique objects.  However, a fern is different in some way.  Were a fern ripped into many pieces, it would be "pieces of a fern;" not separate and unique ferns.  A stone does not cease to be a stone unless it is completely annihilated. I am sure there are many exceptions to this particular experience, but you get the idea. 

However, the cultural "life" is entirely different, and cannot be quite so succinctly defined (despite flaws).  A "Life," when used in the general human conversation, can be the sum of experiences that a person has been through (he's had a good life) a current situation (my life sucks!) or even the experience of consciousness in the world (life is beautiful.)  What is interesting about all of these uses is that they involve free will; the sum of a person's experiences can also be expressed as the sum of a person's choices, current situations are always affected by our actions, and even the experience of consciousness in a shared world can be shaped by our response to the world at large.  How different might the "Life" of Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi or even Jesus or the Primordial Buddha been if they had made different choices?  And how might our lives have been different if they had not "lived" the way they had?  Anyone reading this is indebted to their parents and grandparents and all of their ancestors for making the choices that they did that led to us being born!  We are the result of all the choices that have come before, and we control the future of the world by the choices we make every day. 

True, there are things that we cannot control; coincidence, accidents, even death.  But every day we are here, ALIVE, is another day to make our lives, others' lives, even the world, better.  To be alive in this sense, this intelligent, cultural sense, is to have an iota of say in the life of the world.  A gift of God, of Chance, of Fate, of whatever you wish to attribute it to, it is a gift.  May we use it well.

Daniel

Choices are the hinges of destiny.  

~Attributed to both Edwin Markham and Pythagoras