What does it mean to be alive?

What does it mean to be alive?

Nine years ago on Halloween I survived the crash of a 747 jetliner. Flying from Taiwan to Los Angeles, our plane crashed and exploded on take off. I survived because at the very last moment I changed my seat. I was fortunate others weren’t. I know how lucky I am. Each year at Halloween I celebrate that I am alive.

 As a scientist and humanitarian working on natural disasters, I’ve survived and witnessed more than my fair share of them (statisticians take note)- volcanic eruptions, cyclones, SE Asia tsunami Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and more.  But, in my work, it’s people and how they celebrate life even in awful times that I remember and that still inspire me. 

 

                                            In Sri Lanka, in a place torn asunder by both war and a tsunami, I sat on a beach with fishermen after spending the morning investigating reef devastation. We shared an impromptu bbq when the young men built a driftwood fire to cook and share their catch with me.  They fussed over the fish. We gathered in a tight circle around the fire,  picking off pieces of delicious flesh with our fingers, Our sorrows melted as we bonded with stories of fishing and corals. We howled in laughter regaling each other with our blunders in the mystery of love.  We ourselves were in love with life at that moment.

In Louisiana,  a burly natural resources manager took me to his secret favorite po’boy restaurant- a tiny dive on a street corner.  I watched bliss take the worry from his face as he bit off a huge chunk of shrimp and bread, his eyes losing focus as the taste filled his mouth, and red sauce squirted across his cheeks. He watched me take the virginal bite of my first po’boy and we laughed when the red sauce shot up to my forehead. Then he paused, laid down his food,  and cried strong tears as he told me about the burden of the storm and going in to the bayous to find solace after Hurricane Katrina.  Then there is  my friend who was willing to challenge scientific orthodoxy because of his own passion and beliefs, and rose to found a company that has nurtured and retained nobel laureates. I’m inspired by how people find their own ways to celebrate life and grateful when they share that with me.  Often I see it with people who face personal or professional challenges and yet always find their own moments of being alive.  I’m humbled by how they do it. They teach me that I have no excuse for not doing the same.

 A few months back, an event in my personal life forced me to hover again over the chasm between life and death. My first response was to complain to the universe, and to demand a review of my program based on a clear violation of the “excess of experience” clause.  When that got me nowhere, I finally saw that I’d been given yet another and new opportunity to explore what it means to me to feel alive and when I really feel alive.  “Ok,” I thought “so the universe is sending me back to the lab for more research” –(This proves that the universe is a scientist and a secret journal editor - one of those who say not enough data for conclusions!)

 For me the question of what it means to be  alive is a scientific, personal, evolutionary, spiritual quest that spans quantum physics to complex ecosystems. I’ll have more to say on that later…. But to feel alive is a special part of all of that. My family and especially my two kids make me feel alive- Without connection to them and to my friends, I’d wilt.

I’m alive when I’m exploring on the edge of  knowledge, often going to the scary places of nature, science and the mind-  brimming with passion, curiosity, and wonder. I know I was born to explore and  share the extraordinary magic of what’s out there with the humanity. What makes me feel human and connected to the planet is to be in the ocean - in the playfulness of the waves, awed by the beauty of the colors and the diversity of marine life that is far beyond imagination.   

Halloween approaches.  In the Irish Celtic season this is Samhain and the beginning of the new year and a cycle of renewal.   This year,  as I began to think about celebrating being alive, I wanted to share the experience.

This year I’m celebrating on this forum with friends whom I admire  for their passion, zest for life and whom I feel fortunate to know as friends. I have asked them to share some writings with me Bob Shaye (Hollywood producer/director) Carl Safina (author), Terry Erwin (conservationist scientist), Diana Bourel (transpersonal yogi) and more. In return I shared an intimate experience of mine from that plane crash when I truly knew I was alive.

Tonight’s postings- Bob Shaye, Carl Safina, and Diana Bourel

I’ll be posting their comments here and announcing them on the site, and facebook.

But what about you?

 When do you feel alive?     You are welcome to the forum PLEASE ADD YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES  and we’ll add them to the forum.

Click here to  read a selection of the inspirations, thoughts and comments from others.