The French have it right, absolutely right. They do not say "I am alive." They say "Je suis en vie'..."I am in life." What a superbly expressive way of capturing the joy of living!
Life abounds on Earth. There are now 6.8 billion humans. Over 2.6 million new children come into life each week. It is estimated that by the year 2040, world human population will be 9 billion. The number of other life forms is immeasurable. Compare that to the incredible feeling of wonder that we would experience were we to find but one microscopic life on another planet.
And there is life within me. The approximately 10 trillion cells in my body are in life, ever changing, multiplying, healing themselves. As are the 100 trillion or so microorganisms ithat inhabit me.
From the tiniest ant to the 25,00 pound African elephant, we are in life. The sparrow, the robin, the hawk and eagle are in life. The oceans are laden with species in life. The grass and the trees and the lilacs and lillies are in life, growing, reproducing. The seeds of all plants are in life.
What does it add up to? This. Whenever I am dismayed, disappointed, distressed, disillusioned, disheartened, disenchanted, disconsolate, disturbed, distraught, discombobulated, about the state of my life, I need only think to myself, "Je Suis En Vie," and then I quietly and serenely remember there is no other place I'd rather be.
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