Question

What do you mean by being alive

Answer 1

In fact, this is a tooo difficult question for humans.
Eventhough, we have made our own defnitions for life.

According to biology,
Life is present where there is growth. (thats why plants, animals, insects etc are biologically called alive)
But then arised the problem with some micro-organisms which didnt have growth.
Then humans modified their statement as 'Life is said to be present either of the condition satisfies : It has a growth, It can act individually to change some biological phenomena, It can reproduce in any way'

But we know very well that this is not the end of the defnition. There is a possibility that tomorrow we may discover some from of life which doesn't grow, doesn't reproduce or even doesn't exist in nature.
These are referred to as virtual life which is a part of very advanced research. We look into other planets and still continue our research on life.

According to me,
What does it mean to be alive?
It means I can have awareness of myself and everything from that point in the universe to the farthest points away from myself.
I can remember my past, see today, and hope for tomorrow. I can imagine my death. No other life form on earth can do all of those things- and communicate that in word and in language (both spoken and written).
I can learn something everyday. Not most days, but everyday. I can document and explore my surroundings and communicate.
I can think. I can reason. I can teach.
I am alive