We are committed to the processes of life before we find
ourselves in the act of living.
Commitment to the process of life is an altogether simple matter
beginning with conception, and this commitment is made on one’s behalf. The commitment to the processes of life is as
elemental as drawing one’s next breath or next bite of food. It is largely
unconscious and continues either to the moment of death or to the moment one
makes the decision no longer to live. The act of living is a completely
different commitment. It begins with the
first hints of a dawning awareness of the human condition. Once we commit, we have taken upon ourselves
all the difficulties associated with living, all of the benefits, and its
simple monotonies. Life as an act is confronted with a certain blankness or
inertia that invites the creation of meaning.
However, the question becomes one of whether we should live with a view
to creating meaning or simply live and allow whatever meaning will arise to
arise. Either way, we find ourselves able to assimilate the act of living long
after the fact.
