What is the summary of life?

We know the cycle of life: we are born, we grow, we becoming adults and do various things, including to make children at our turn , become old, .., die.

Beyond chemical reactions, interactions of physical factors, beyond what is biology or genetics, humans are much more. Analyzing every aspect of his life, and every part of his body: miraculous.   So well done! A perfect machine. Never man can not reproduce it.

Yet what is life? What does it mean to live?

 

Let us imagine:

I'm old and sick. I have 78 years. I struggle to go to the corner store to buy bread. When I was young i was flying quickly wherever needed. Now .... Oh! I fought many battles to manage something. On stairs from the second floor to the ground floor: creepy bother. When I get down I must take a  break to rest. Then to the block corner, another fight. And in winter is even harder.

     I look at my neighbors child. Has 17 years, and how long it takes  to go to the store and back it, he would certainly make 50 races. And this is just one example. I cry after strength and capabilities that I had when I was young. And then there is my shaky health. I know that one day, soon, I will close my eyes, definitely. BUT ... God! ... I want a little more ..... Thus, disease, pain, grief, wrestling with retirement and doing little for days ...... hunger at home, and many other problem; i still want to see tomorrow!

     I sometimes sit and look out the window. I think that as much as I ever lived, i still want more, and more. I am aware that one day, all will end, but I want a little more. When I die I will not know anything. And sometimes I still wonder why should I live if I will become a vegetable. But want to see colors, sounds, smell  flowers or even a good food, to feel, to live. To live.

This is the definition that we can give for life: live = to see, to hear, to feel, to think, to believe. It can be one of them without excluding 'think'. So think = life.

So life is limited to essential needs. And human needs are:

-physiological,

-of belonging,

-for love,

-to do something,

- to leave a legacy.

There are certainly many explanations from "what is life?" But the reality is that when we are almost to death  we realize better what it means to live.

 

1. Physiological needs. Are essential for survival: to eat, to drink, to sleep, to protect themselves from cold and heat. There are also needs to feel, taste, smell, hear, see, etc.. They are the most important human needs. Their satisfaction is necessary to stay alive.

2. Needs of safety. Every human being needs to feel protected against any threat to her life. To feel safe in the home territory in which he live. Also is need sociability, that is to live in peace in a suitable environment with other people much like us and generally share the same ideals.

3. NEED LOVE AND OWNERSHIP. Once basic needs covered, this is the most important. Nobody can be happy  without the wanted person  and accepted by other human beings. This includes the need for friends, family, belonging to a group, etc., or involvement in a non-sexual intimate relationship. Relationship with others at a deep emotional level is the usual form of meeting this need. For example, family, life partner or friend. Lack of love and belonging can give occasion to mental imbalances.

4. NEED  of self-esteem. Every human being needs to respect herself and have a proper conception of his own person. It is about the recognition from others (resulting in feelings of power, prestige, acceptance, etc.) and of self-esteem, which creates a sense of trust, suitability, competence. Unmet needs results in discouragement esteem and long term inferiority complex. Self-assessment level unbalanced (such as underestimation, for example, "I think that everyone is superior to me") results in low yield and therefore damaging behavior.

5. NEED for self realization. According to Abraham Maslow, one in ten people feel intensely this need. The psychologist said that people who have everything can maximize their potential. They can seek knowledge, peace, esthetic experiences, self-fulfillment. Most revolve around the needs that can be provided. Self-Realization include higher and more abstract goals (eg. justice, perfection, goodness, truth, individual decisions), which are more fragile, like top.