We are all born with a finite amount of time and in that journey we learn, discover, and grow into habits day by day. Many of us have the illusion that we are here on this earth forever. Some of us have accepted the fate of death will happen someday. Only a small portion of us realize that death is not only inevitable but should be a driving concept to live our lives in the best way we can.

But how do we really live until we die? Do all of us even have the capacity to do so? The answer to the second question is: No. Not all of us have the luxury to fulfill our dreams and desires, whether it be because of war, tragedy, or lacking resources for basic necessities of life. However, some may argue that adversity can drive people to build resilience and thus they are able to achieve even more than expected. An example would be any refugee from any part of the world. A more specific example would be Syrian refugee youths. Although they lived through the Syrian government’s war on them (i.e., innocent civilians) and had to migrate to new places and countries to start anew with little to no help, many young Syrian refugees didn’t let those barriers of trauma prevent them from things like education and the pursuit of happiness.

To answer the first question, I believe we can’t really live unless we set our minds to what our purpose is in this world and ways to achieve fulfillment, regardless of the circumstances that try to tell us that we can’t achieve it. A sense of purpose can be anything and is extremely subjective and personal to each individual. My purpose may be different than yours. A purpose doesn’t have to be profound, it can be anything and can be changed throughout our lifetime. For example, my purpose is to graduate with my  PsyD Clinical Psychology degree and to use it to the fullest while educating people about mental health. This may change later on but this is my purpose I am working towards right now at this very moment. Yours might be something entirely different, in fact, it probably is.

And then there comes this question: “How can we live if our life is cut short abruptly with no indication of that happening?” I think about this in terms of something that has been affecting this country which is mass shootings. How can people get a chance to live if that is taken away from them without warning? How are young people and children supposed to live if they are in fear of getting shot and killed? The answer to this question is not clear to me yet, and I don’t know if it ever will be. Unfortunately, this life is beyond unfair and many people won’t survive it past adolescence.

We don’t know when “our time will come” and how we will exit this world. We are mortal. We are flawed. We are human. And yet, we need to live this life in spite of all the unfairness with one certain mindset: That we will leave this earth better than we found it for the future generations and to make it a mission to fulfill our needs, hopes, dreams, and desires to be happy as much as we can. Some of us will struggle with a terminal illness, addiction, trauma, mental illness, loss and grief, war, poverty, homelessness, and many other challenges. I do hope that in the face of these challenges people can help one another and themselves to truly live before we die.

Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.

-Alejandro González Iñárritu