On Aug. 6, 1941, 6-year-old Elaine Esposito went to the hospital for a routine appendectomy. She went under general anesthetic and never came out. Esposito stayed in a coma for 37 years and 111 days before dying in 1978. Without a doubt that she was alive; she had a tube in the windpipe through the mouth, and hooked to a breathing machine. With her heart pumping and nose breathing — she was alive — but she wasn't living.
There is a difference between surviving and living.
According to the Oxford Dictionary being alive is the state of “not being dead”. If your blood is flowing and air is reaching your lungs, you are alive — but living goes beyond the biological functions of surviving. To live should mean waking up every morning and being content …show more content…
Someone who is bitter with life wakes up miserable, goes to work mad, eats lunch in solitude, drives home upset, comes home to no one, eats dinner regretting, regretting every waking moment. They may even have nightmares in their sleep too! In the case of Ebenezer Scrooge, although a fictional character, Charles Dickens did an excellent job of describing a man who is not living. The last name “Scrooge” actually means misery and misanthropy.. In A Christmas Carol, where Scrooge appears, he gets visited from the ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Be. And in those visits, he is shown how no one enjoys him around and that if he keeps his act up, people will end up celebrating his death. Feeling sorry for himself, he desperately begs the spirit for another chance at life. Upon waking up, he instantly repents and starts being a better person. Due to his greed, he was stuck without purpose and no loved ones, and there isn't much to live for. His vision of his own tomb stone triggered the basic human reaction of seeking affection. Scrooge wasn't seeing clearly how his actions were affecting those around him, and did not realize that he would die a lonely man. Not until he finally realize the consequences did he start to become more generous and appreciate those around …show more content…
To achieve such a goal, many will go through drastic measures to fit in and "belong". And through this "belonging", one may find merriment and happiness in their friends. And as it turns out, people who are happy actually live longer. Studies have shown that a happier life leads to a healthy life, those who are happy tend to have a lower heart rate, less levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and even lower concentrations of plasma associated with heart disease — the number leading cause of death! In these studies, “happy” doesn’t mean winning lottery, they refer to it as having meaning and purpose. Basically, living makes life
There is a difference between surviving and living.
According to the Oxford Dictionary being alive is the state of “not being dead”. If your blood is flowing and air is reaching your lungs, you are alive — but living goes beyond the biological functions of surviving. To live should mean waking up every morning and being content …show more content…
Someone who is bitter with life wakes up miserable, goes to work mad, eats lunch in solitude, drives home upset, comes home to no one, eats dinner regretting, regretting every waking moment. They may even have nightmares in their sleep too! In the case of Ebenezer Scrooge, although a fictional character, Charles Dickens did an excellent job of describing a man who is not living. The last name “Scrooge” actually means misery and misanthropy.. In A Christmas Carol, where Scrooge appears, he gets visited from the ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Be. And in those visits, he is shown how no one enjoys him around and that if he keeps his act up, people will end up celebrating his death. Feeling sorry for himself, he desperately begs the spirit for another chance at life. Upon waking up, he instantly repents and starts being a better person. Due to his greed, he was stuck without purpose and no loved ones, and there isn't much to live for. His vision of his own tomb stone triggered the basic human reaction of seeking affection. Scrooge wasn't seeing clearly how his actions were affecting those around him, and did not realize that he would die a lonely man. Not until he finally realize the consequences did he start to become more generous and appreciate those around …show more content…
To achieve such a goal, many will go through drastic measures to fit in and "belong". And through this "belonging", one may find merriment and happiness in their friends. And as it turns out, people who are happy actually live longer. Studies have shown that a happier life leads to a healthy life, those who are happy tend to have a lower heart rate, less levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and even lower concentrations of plasma associated with heart disease — the number leading cause of death! In these studies, “happy” doesn’t mean winning lottery, they refer to it as having meaning and purpose. Basically, living makes life