What is...?

[tenchi_no_kashaku]

What is it to truly be alive? Is it to live life to it's fullest or to live as one is supposed to?
If you play with fire you're going to get burned.
To kiss life and open one's heart is to perpetually marry death.
In the end we're victims of the love triangle between life, death, and ourselves.  

[Zurvan Razandel]

But what is the measure of a "full" life, and for that matter is there a defined path we are supposed to follow?  

[AbrAbraxas]

you assume that you are your body and that this is the only world that we can know.
why is it that in any plant or animal after death has occurred the body cannot be revived? if our life were exclusively in the tissue wouldn't it seem logical that we could restart life as one changes the batteries in a toy.

you are certainly right about the love triangle and you are asking good questions, but i do not now have any answers either.  

[Fat Blue]

are you asking questions or giving answers?
both?

I (maybe) agree with your concluding statement.

If there is a meaning, a "supposed to," it is intangible and seemingly a moot point. I believe that it is unknowable, and, thus, it is senseless to philosophically seek out an objective, definitive answer. However, because the "supposed to" isn't concrete, the individual as well as society are free to determine ethics without heeding to morals.

(This post will be edited in the near future)  

[Agonxsama]

The way I see it, through long life experience, it's not how we're to live, but rather how we're not to live.

The common everyday average human being (particularly teens) does not think about life, he simply thinks of what he is to eat tomorrow morning, go to school/work, come back and do useless s**t like watch TV, hit the sack and
repeat the process.

As unique entities, humans, we need to break the never ending cycle of doing everything pointlessly. I, since the age of 14, have decided to cease meeting the expectations of peers. I only did what I find best fits my interests.

I believe that we are to advance civilization. Destroy those who get in the way and assist those who follow our ways. Only after a long time of doing this will we be able to find the answer to this question.

But, I have since forever thought that the one answer that suits it best is the one I heard a psychologist said, we're all born to judge beauty.
Therefore, the moment you look at the sky and think the following: "Beautiful", is the moment you truly begin to live.  

[tenchi_no_kashaku]

That! my friend, is a very contradictory solution.
By doing this, one supposes that they are the only open-minded "solution."
But in turn you are closed to everything around you except oneself.
One must always be aware of what does and doesn't surround them.
To truly be alive is to recognize that one's concious being is the closest
thing that we have to completely understanding. And by moving from that point, changing how we view everything else. In other worlds one would
be reciprocating reality with life. Thus solving an otherwise complication of
one of the most simple ideations of a paradox. Good luck with that.  

[Calypsophia]

tenchi_no_kashaku

What is it to truly be alive? Is it to live life to it's fullest or to live as one is supposed to?
If you play with fire you're going to get burned.
To kiss life and open one's heart is to perpetually marry death.
In the end we're victims of the love triangle between life, death, and ourselves.

to me, to truly be alive is to be open to all experiences. to live life to it's fullest, as you say, but with responsibility and according to my conscience. it is my conscience that dictates how I'm personally supposed to live. to live, is to eventually die. that is the only guarantee. that is why, to me.. all of the experiences I have are important. they can all be seen as lessons and are all a means for my personal growth. even and perhaps especially the bad ones. it is said that the most profound lessons in life are the hardest learned.

some would ask, to what purpose? the answer is personal and varied. for most, there is a goal to be reached... be it heaven, nirvana, or what have you. for me, there is no ultimate goal. the goal is the experience itself while I have the chance to have it. for all I know, it's the only opportunity I'll have. and if I die, and there's no afterlife..only darkness.. then so be it. but I am alive now and intend to enjoy it as much as I can, while I can, for no other reason than because I can.  

[27x]

The measurment of how full the life is is done mostly by the individual, so it is really a matter of opinion.  

[Lawliet Yushira]

Living life to the fullest doesn't mean a length of time, but rather the contents of your life. No one can really define "fullest" because everyone has a different intpretation of it. Personally, I believe living life to the fullest is living a life you are satisfied with. To me, living life to the fullest is living a satisfying life, where love is your main priority.  

[nightlight]

sounds like a difference in preferences between platonic and aristotelian ideas of 'the good life'.