The scientific definition of life is the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally. Sounds pretty easy to understand. Essentially, by this definition a human that reproduces and adapts to their environment has life. I find that definition to be far too narrow in what most people understand as life. Hell, anyone that has a breath in them right now will tell you life if more than just metabolism, reproduction, and adaptation.
Ask a few people what life is to them and you will hear answers that span all ends of the spectrum. You will hear answers that define life through identities, events, hobbies, and tasks. Most people today understand life to be the noun that has been assigned to the impossibly defined experience that all humans share before death. It is a suggestive word, a biased word. It’s definition grows and becomes more complicated as we grow. Since the understanding of life is something the develops with age each of us will all answer the question “What is life?” differently.
For me, life is defined as the moments in which you are present for, the events that happen to you; it is the what in your every day. Think back to when you were younger. How would have 7 year old you answer the question, “What is life?” Next, think about how you would answer that question today. I guarantee that today the definition will include names, places, things you have done, and people you know. This fluid definition of life; the one that as we age becomes more complex, more reflective, more personal is why I have decided to start this blog.
My goal with this blog is to share my definition and experience of life; in detail. I want to share how The Kara came to be. How growth and adaptation became the direct result of things happening.
Anyone familiar with me knows that this human experience has tossed a lot my way in the short 28 years I have had the pleasure of being. Particularly the last 18 months. Practically each and every event that one human can experience over a lifetime has already found away into my path.
In that short time span I have experienced death (twice), quit my job, relocated, and fell in love. I am just lucky enough (yes lucky) to fit all these experiences in at once. Hell, I am still experiencing them. Each and everyday something from my most recent past presents itself. These can be fluttering moments that only last seconds or bigger moments that tend to set the mood for the entire day. No they are not all bad, upsetting, or even more than just a moment of stopping to be present in that moment. For not everything that happens it trying, there is beauty in this world. Many of these moments are inspiring; providing both growth and mindfulness is my daily experience as a human. An experience I want to share. An experience that should be used to connect on a real level with the environment around me.
In this world of constant communication, continually connectivity, I found myself unable to fully express myself. Unable to find a truly attentive ear when needed. An inability to, no matter how hard I try, share all the details. To express each story fully, exposing the lessons that accompanied each. This will provide me that. An ability to transcend the 140 character communication we have grown accustom to. The ability to consistently see timeline updates, send a quick text, to peer into the lives of those you know without ever speaking a word to them has cheapened our communication. Humans no longer stop and really absorb the energy in watching a friend try to define life to them. I want to take the time to share on a real level, whether anyone reads it or not.
I hope you enjoy reading this as it continues to develop. Know that this is just me. One human taking time to cathartically express themselves. This is not going to be an auto biography of my life, it will not break down each and every event sequentially. It isn’t even my instruction manual on how to define for experience life. Instead, it will simply be the details of my experience. A sharing of the lessons I learn through being. My open ended, continually adapting, definition of life. The story behind The Kara.
Becoming The Kara 