What is life?

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

– Confucius

If you are reading this, you are alive, human and experiencing life. You are a living, breathing organism who feels emotions, thinks thoughts and holds on to beliefs, interpreting a reality through filters of perceptions that have developed since your birth. You have your life story and unique identity, or ego, just like everyone else.
Just like snowflakes, no two humans are identical, even twins.
We are one-of-a-kind yet all the same. Praise the paradox! 

Life is an experience

We mortal humans are here to feel emotions, think thoughts and learn lessons daily. They can be repeated in different forms until they are understood. There is not necessarily any meaning other than the what you decide to attribute to it.

Life is a school
Everyday in the informal, full-time school of life there is an opportunity to learn and to grow. We learn more and more about ourselves and the world around us every day, if we are pay attention. Through suffering we often obtain some of the best lessons and opportunities for positive change.

Life is the moment between birth and death
Time is just an illusion, and what we perceive as linear is actually cyclical. What we count in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years and decades is simply a succession of moments that make up our memories and the story that is our life. The only real moment is the present.

Life is a story
Everyone is essentially the same, yet no single individual holds the same story of their existence. Similarities indeed are present between our collective narrative, yet our story and experience of life remains unique, contributing to the story of humanity.

Life is a journey

It is not about where you go, as we are all heading for the same destination; death. It is about how you get there; the people you meet, the situations you experience, the emotions you feel, the places you explore, the decisions you make and the actions you take.

Life is a process
Everything is in perpetual movement. All cells in our body are constantly interacting and exchanging biochemical information to maintain life. Parts of our body are breaking down while others are building up. There is no moment where our body is not being active in the process of living.

Life is a blessing
Despite the ups and downs, we can be grateful to be able to experience life as a human being. If we can cherish our existence and that of all other living beings, there would be a lot less suffering for everyone.

Life is energy
We are surrounded by universal life force, some call Qi, Chi, Prana, universal consciousness or electromagnetism. It is invisible yet omnipresent and infinite. Ultimately everything is energy! It is what you do with it that counts.

Essentially life is open to interpretation. There is no wrong answer as what you make of life is entirely up to you!

http://weknowmemes.com/2012/06/if-there-are-no-ups-and-downs-in-your-life/

http://journalismiziko.dut.ac.za/feature-review/what-is-life/