alive
filled with energy and vitality
There are actually very few times I have thought about nothing except how amazing it is to be breathing, living, and alive. The moments are also extremely diverse. It’s the feeling in the middle of a concert when your favorite artist starts your favorite song and you’re singing along. It’s the feeling of singing in a choir with my best friend, who I think I both loudly loved and secretly loved in a separate way, where she grabs my hand and we sing next to each other in a choir full of people for a theater full of people. It’s waking up from a nap in the car where my boyfriend points at the trees in an obscure part of Virginia and says “Look! Look at how pretty the trees are!” and I look and the trees are beautiful. It’s the feeling of being able to go to a new building during summer school and eat catered fried rice and feel special. Never mind it’s not a few times it’s quite a lot of times I have felt alive. I’m so grateful to have experienced all of these moments. I think I can forget them in the midst of everything else.
“Open your heart to happiness. Let every pore absorb light. Swim in the joy of here and now, And cast off the darkness of night. Walk in the summer of sunshine. Fly in the blueness of sky. Know possibilities are boundless. Understand that nothing can die. Step from the shadows of torment. Sing ‘til your throat gets too sore. Smile for as long as the day is, and laugh just a little bit more. Breathe slowly and deeply and listen. Give all your ideas a chance. Let the sun beat down on your goodness, And kick off your shoes and dance.”
Paul Hayward, Dance
“Simple things are the little things Such happiness they can bring From watching a sunrise To giving a child a simple surprise. If we stop and look and see how simple things in life can be The best and happiest times During our life journey climb.”
Catherine Pulsifer, Little Things
“I am tired of being human. And angry at feeling so much love. Some days I am angry just to be alive.”
Clarice Lispector, Excess and Privation
“Pigs can’t look up. But I could pick a pig up one night and raise it into the sky and tilt this pig ever so gentle. I can make sure this pig’s eyes lineup with the stars. Imagine seeing the stars for the first time. I want to be treated that kindly and see the stars for the first time.”
Vincent D’Onofrio
“At lunchtime I bought a huge orange
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave
They got quarters and I had a half.
And that orange, it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park.
This is peace and contentment. It’s new.
The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all the jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.”
Wendy Cope, The Orange
