Topic: When do you feel most alive? (Read 11408 times)

imaginary friend · « **on:** May 02, 2008, 10:47:58 PM »

I'll post my answer(s) when I have more time; for now, this'll have to do:

jdfu!

RatsRGods · « **Reply #1 on:** May 02, 2008, 10:51:55 PM »

During sex

Molotovna · « **Reply #2 on:** May 03, 2008, 12:35:54 AM »

In a mosh pit at a show.

colordeaf · « **Reply #3 on:** May 03, 2008, 01:09:35 AM »

Coming home from hitting tennis balls. Watching something bizarre unfold (like seeing two guys waving a Confederate flag and screaming out the window of an SUV in a sleepy woodland town).

Bad Kitty · « **Reply #4 on:** May 03, 2008, 05:09:46 AM »

When I'm dancing.. when I'm crying.. when I'm laughing so hard I make snorting noises and my sides begin to hurt.. when I open my bedroom window in the middle of the night and breathe in the cool night air.

dangerpants · « **Reply #5 on:** May 03, 2008, 09:18:01 AM »

When I realize that, despite my size, I can still fit in one of those little kid cars on the fronts of some shopping carts.

And when I run until I cannot breathe.

tonic pancake. · « **Reply #6 on:** May 03, 2008, 09:53:26 AM »

my most life-affirming experience was skydiving. i've been craving going again, because it was truly fantastic.

imaginary friend · « **Reply #7 on:** May 04, 2008, 01:51:59 PM »

There's a point when I'm improvising/soloing when I start seeing the notes as if they were written out on paper, only in 3D and color. The further ahead I'm seeing what I'm going to play, the better the experience is. There have been times when I'm starting a 16 or 32 bar solo where I'm already seeing the end. Being that tied in to the source...it's like a current flowing through you, completely controlled and uncontrollable at the same time.

If that's not when I'm most alive, it's Top 3 for sure.

jdfu!

Holmes · « **Reply #8 on:** May 04, 2008, 01:57:53 PM »

Quote from: hurricane hugo on May 04, 2008, 01:51:59 PM

There's a point when I'm improvising/soloing when I start seeing the notes as if they were written out on paper, only in 3D and color. The further ahead I'm seeing what I'm going to play, the better the experience is. There have been times when I'm starting a 16 or 32 bar solo where I'm already seeing the end. Being that tied in to the source...it's like a current flowing through you, completely controlled and uncontrollable at the same time.

If that's not when I'm most alive, it's Top 3 for sure.

jdfu!

it's strange, but i know almost exactly how you feel.
whenever I get a 32-bar drum solo, i see it from start to end before i've even started it, and the further i look, the better it gets.
drumming makes me feel like the most powerful person in the fucking world!

hugo, what do you play?

SeeAnne · « **Reply #9 on:** May 04, 2008, 02:23:55 PM »

When the colour of a song embraces me whole....when I laugh and I actually mean it.

Musings · « **Reply #10 on:** May 04, 2008, 02:39:16 PM »

Real laughter, yes. Even hearing it.

This was posted on my myspace blog, and elsewhere, but this is a description of the last time I felt most alive (maybe a week ago?):

Quote

I had this moment - I have these moments, in the spring, only a few times but they are so precious - when I stepped outside after doing lab work and I was buzzing.

I think this passage from Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is a good one to explain this feeling:
<
"Then one day I was walking along Tinker Creek thinking of nothing at all and I saw the tree with lights in it. I saw the backyard cedar where the mourning doves roost charged and transfigured, each cell buzzing with flame. I stood on the grass with lights on it, grass that was wholly fire, utterly focused and utterly dreamed. It was less like seeing than being for the first time seen, knocked breathless by a powerful glance. The flood of fire abated, but I'm still spending the power. Gradually the lights went out in the cedar, the colors died, the cells unflamed and disappeared. I was still ringing. I had been my whole life a bell, and never knew it until that moment I was lifted and struck. I have since only very rarely seen the tree with lights in it. The vision comes and goes, mostly goes, but I live for it, for the moment when the mountains open and a new light roars in spate through the crack, and the mountains slam."

I am not Annie Dillard, but I have these moments, when the air and the ground and my mind swirl together and it is as if the world has opened up and is waiting for me to reach in.

I stepped outside tonight, and I tasted and smelled sweetness in the air, the sweetness of not only of flowers but also of spring, the possibilities of spring, the freshness that it brings to the day. The grass pressed against my feet and I could feel the earth swell, hum at the edge of my toes, and for a crazy moment I thought of lying down, bringing my face to the ground and tasting the dirt. Tasting life in between my teeth.

I was thinking, not about the day, but about color and how amazing it is that red will never be the same to me two times in a row, that red is vibrant and immense and live, and that that was so beautiful, more beautiful than I could write or read, but I could see, and I could push against that red and watch the ways in which my mind moved around it, played with it, drew it from my surroundings.

I rediscovered Wallace Stevens today: "The most beautiful thing in the world is, of course, the world itself." We understand each other.

I had a flashback to when I was maybe 7 or 8: who is this person inside of my head, who does it belong to? what if it's not me that's experiencing this?

And then I was coming down the hill, and my mouth opened involuntarily, and I was laughing, because the moon was full and so golden, and the sky this light purple that extended down to the horizon. I reached for my camera, but then I thought, this yellow, this yellow is inside of my head, and so this camera is useless at capturing whaere the yellow in my head begins, and shifts, and reworks. The moon was so beautiful and big, and I almost wanted to grab it, and hold it, but it was perfect right there in the sky.

This is my religion, this playground between mind and world, that I take in light of different worlds and reconstruct realities, that I can feel, on a night like tonight, with every fiber that I am connected, that my imprint is felt somewhere, that the world is beckoning me to see, see. Why look for something more when it is all laid out here, like the best puzzle you could every ask for, and you can just play with the pieces?

I am so wide-eyed. I have so many questions to figure out but I am overjoyed that they exist, that my thoughts are speeding, and I only catch a bit now, but I know that they exist, and I exist, and somehow everything works in this utterly beautiful way, and I can be a part of that working.

imaginary friend · « **Reply #11 on:** May 04, 2008, 02:53:51 PM »

Quote from: Holmes on May 04, 2008, 01:57:53 PM

Quote from: hurricane hugo on May 04, 2008, 01:51:59 PM
There's a point when I'm improvising/soloing when I start seeing the notes as if they were written out on paper, only in 3D and color. The further ahead I'm seeing what I'm going to play, the better the experience is. There have been times when I'm starting a 16 or 32 bar solo where I'm already seeing the end. Being that tied in to the source...it's like a current flowing through you, completely controlled and uncontrollable at the same time.

If that's not when I'm most alive, it's Top 3 for sure.

jdfu!

it's strange, but i know almost exactly how you feel.
whenever I get a 32-bar drum solo, i see it from start to end before i've even started it, and the further i look, the better it gets.
drumming makes me feel like the most powerful person in the fucking world!

hugo, what do you play?

Guitar, primarily. It's the only instrument I can solo on with confidence, so it's what I was referencing in the post you quoted.

jdfu!

murmur · « **Reply #12 on:** May 06, 2008, 12:12:39 AM »

When im doing something dangerous or illegal. Something that could possibly result in bad bad bad bad things including death or scrapping knees.

85283-071 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 06, 2008, 03:05:53 AM »

Several activities, such as high speed motorcycling and running in meadows, make me feel most alive. The list is longer but there is a common thread. They all work best in warmth and sunlight.

caddy · « **Reply #14 on:** May 06, 2008, 03:48:37 AM »

when i'm at the height of my suicidal mood swings.

murmur · « **Reply #15 on:** May 07, 2008, 12:41:21 AM »

When I am speeding down a 35 mph road going 80.
God I love the rush that someone could slam into me at any given second.
I think I have a secret death wish or something aha.

Oh and I also feel alive when I don't eat for several days. It gives me a since of what people in other countries go through. Even though its only a small dose.

Also I feel very alive when I can sit and have a real conversation with someone and relate to someone. I haven't related with anyone in such a long time when I do I just feel awesome.

Brittany · « **Reply #16 on:** May 07, 2008, 12:47:59 AM »

when the spring really begins.

in the grey, humid electricity, right before a big storm.

when I discover something new about myself or the world.

when I'm pining for something.

when I'm alone, in nature.

every few years, when innocence is reborn.

SisterDesire · « **Reply #17 on:** May 07, 2008, 01:03:34 AM »

When I am painting in my studio...

Mr. Anagrammatism · « **Reply #18 on:** May 07, 2008, 01:44:34 PM »

Before I start ovulating.

85283-071 · « **Reply #19 on:** May 07, 2008, 08:05:18 PM »

On a raft, floating down a wild river through the mountains, with the sounds of songbirds echoing up and down the river canyon, drinking a blue rasberry Jolt Cola and getting a blowjob.

RaggedyAnn · « **Reply #20 on:** May 07, 2008, 08:13:41 PM »

when I'm riding a horse in the desert or a pretty meadow.
when I lean out the sunroof of a moving car and feel the wind on my face.
when I meet someone new and we really click.

Brittany · « **Reply #21 on:** May 07, 2008, 08:23:54 PM »

Quote from: RaggedyAnn on May 07, 2008, 08:13:41 PM

when I'm riding a horse in the desert

I'm sorry to have to ask this, but does that horse have a name?

85283-071 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 07, 2008, 08:26:05 PM »

Oh jeez.

RaggedyAnn · « **Reply #23 on:** May 07, 2008, 08:32:13 PM »

Quote from: Brittany on May 07, 2008, 08:23:54 PM

Quote from: RaggedyAnn on May 07, 2008, 08:13:41 PM
when I'm riding a horse in the desert

I'm sorry to have to ask this, but does that horse have a name?

hah wow I didn't realize how cheesy that sounded when I posted it, but I honestly meant no reference to the song.
and yes the horse did have a name

85283-071 · « **Reply #24 on:** May 07, 2008, 08:35:05 PM »

What kind of riding do you do?

RaggedyAnn · « **Reply #25 on:** May 07, 2008, 08:39:42 PM »

Quote from: 85283-071 on May 07, 2008, 08:35:05 PM

What kind of riding do you do?

I used to mainly ride english, but it's been a couple of years. Lately I've just been doing trail riding, all western. I'm starting english back up this summer though

85283-071 · « **Reply #26 on:** May 07, 2008, 08:46:18 PM »

My girlfriend rides dressage mostly, but she exercises and trains polo ponies too.

RaggedyAnn · « **Reply #27 on:** May 07, 2008, 08:50:22 PM »

I used to do some dressage, but I prefer more relaxed styles of riding. I think it takes more discipline than I have, but it's beautiful to watch when it's done well.

cute_concoction · « **Reply #28 on:** May 07, 2008, 10:26:48 PM »

When I'm doing something I can die from.
It's usually pretty dangerous.

$ethie · « **Reply #29 on:** May 07, 2008, 10:47:15 PM »

When I forget to take my medication, or when I'm out with friends doing things that responsible adults shouldn't do.

Saturdays in the strip district are pretty enlivening too.

heartstringz · « **Reply #30 on:** May 07, 2008, 10:59:45 PM »

When I'm on a tall-ship and the wind's honking in, the sea is dead behind us and the ship is pitching and rolling. Water is coming over the side, & the bowsprit's almost underwater. The ship is 100ft long and is behaving like a surfboard. The skipper calls to wear ship (turn around) and we all run to our stations. The manouvre begins and we are all standing on the rolling deck, holding whatever we can find to prevent ourselves falling overboard. We are drenched, spray is soaking us through our wet-weather gear and the wind is stinging our faces. As the ship comes around the sailing master tells us to haul in on the headsail. Ten of us are standing there in a line, hands on the rope, feet braced against the side of the ship, the deck is sloping at a 45 degree angle. We are hauling with all our strength, the way things used to be - no winches, just human strength and endurance.

There is something beautiful and majestic about that kind of sailing, as well as it being exhilarating. When ever I'm near the ocean I feel alive, but instances like this are the best of all. I live to sail, and sailing like that is just phenomenal.

Another sailing incident that made me feel particularly alive - climbing the 30 metre mast of a square-rigged tall-ship in the middle of the night while sailing through the Bass Strait. The wind was 35 knots (approx 65km/hr) and the ship was surfing. The cool night air on my face & the feeling as I made my way out on the yard-arm - to me, that is living.

Radarmantro · « **Reply #31 on:** May 08, 2008, 01:09:25 PM »

Quote from: heartstringz on May 07, 2008, 10:59:45 PM

When I'm on a tall-ship and the wind's honking in, the sea is dead behind us and the ship is pitching and rolling. Water is coming over the side, & the bowsprit's almost underwater. The ship is 100ft long and is behaving like a surfboard. The skipper calls to wear ship (turn around) and we all run to our stations. The manouvre begins and we are all standing on the rolling deck, holding whatever we can find to prevent ourselves falling overboard. We are drenched, spray is soaking us through our wet-weather gear and the wind is stinging our faces. As the ship comes around the sailing master tells us to haul in on the headsail. Ten of us are standing there in a line, hands on the rope, feet braced against the side of the ship, the deck is sloping at a 45 degree angle. We are hauling with all our strength, the way things used to be - no winches, just human strength and endurance.

There is something beautiful and majestic about that kind of sailing, as well as it being exhilarating. When ever I'm near the ocean I feel alive, but instances like this are the best of all. I live to sail, and sailing like that is just phenomenal.

Another sailing incident that made me feel particularly alive - climbing the 30 metre mast of a square-rigged tall-ship in the middle of the night while sailing through the Bass Strait. The wind was 35 knots (approx 65km/hr) and the ship was surfing. The cool night air on my face & the feeling as I made my way out on the yard-arm - to me, that is living.

Damn, that sounds majestic. I can well understand how you would feel alive in such incidents.

I have only tried a Rollercoaster once in my life. And by damn, I have not felt such adrenaline before. I felt the experience completely satisfying in so many senses. By damn, I must try one once more...

Devery · « **Reply #32 on:** May 08, 2008, 01:37:58 PM »

Downhill skiing at 40-50 mph on icy slopes, almost out of control. Your heart is beating so fast, and you know you're right on the edge, but the commitment has already been made and you couldn't stop if you wanted to, so you have to just suck it in and ride it out to the end.

doritojoe89 · « **Reply #33 on:** May 08, 2008, 08:17:12 PM »

i feel alive when i listen to Bright Eyes ....

Niels · « **Reply #34 on:** May 09, 2008, 02:40:22 PM »

When it's sunny outside and I'm sitting on a bench somewhere listening to a good song.

$ethie · « **Reply #35 on:** May 10, 2008, 01:14:24 AM »

I feel pretty fucking alive right now.

I just got home, and I drove with the stereo blasting. Sethie's top speed for the night: 105mph. I rule.

yosmark · « **Reply #36 on:** May 10, 2008, 01:20:28 AM »

^ she rule

When i am running free with no direction.

murmur · « **Reply #37 on:** May 10, 2008, 01:41:12 AM »

Quote from: Sethie on May 10, 2008, 01:14:24 AM

I feel pretty fucking alive right now.

I just got home, and I drove with the stereo blasting. Sethie's top speed for the night: 105mph. I rule.

HEY I went 110 tonight on the highway! Yay I love speeding. Mapquest told me it would take me 20 minutes to get to where i needed to go. I got there in 7.

caddy · « **Reply #38 on:** May 10, 2008, 02:29:13 AM »

you people are going to get yourselves killed. ~frowns~

SomewhatDamaged · « **Reply #39 on:** May 10, 2008, 03:27:20 AM »

Quote from: murmuringmurder on May 10, 2008, 01:41:12 AM

Quote from: Sethie on May 10, 2008, 01:14:24 AM
I feel pretty fucking alive right now.

I just got home, and I drove with the stereo blasting. Sethie's top speed for the night: 105mph. I rule.

HEY I went 110 tonight on the highway! Yay I love speeding. Mapquest told me it would take me 20 minutes to get to where i needed to go. I got there in 7.

9 points on your license & £180 in fines might slow you down. It certainly did for me.

CeeGBee · « **Reply #40 on:** May 10, 2008, 01:11:32 PM »

Last time I got a ticket (70 in a 55 zone), I went to court and got "driving school" and they
dropped the charge...

The guy before me on the docket was doing 95 in a 55 (actually probably faster, but the cop
took a moment to catch up with him enough to clock him). He got:
No license...
Substantial fine (sorry, I forget how-many-thousands... plus court fees)
and 60 days in jail... with weekday release so he could go to work.

I won't tell you not to speed... hell, who doesn't speed?
...but don't be stoopid.

dangerpants · « **Reply #41 on:** May 10, 2008, 01:28:05 PM »

Quote from: CeeGBee on May 10, 2008, 01:11:32 PM

hell, who doesn't speed?

I don't.

Seriously.
Saves gas, plus I save time by not getting pulled over. It's a pretty sweet deal, really. Oh, and I have a lowered risk of a sudden and painful death!

(Then again, speeding in the minivan is nearly impossible anyway... It's a shaky beast, you see... And very unaerodynamic...)

SomewhatDamaged · « **Reply #42 on:** May 10, 2008, 01:59:07 PM »

Quote from: CeeGBee on May 10, 2008, 01:11:32 PM

who doesn't speed?

The bain of my fucking life... OLD PEOPLE!

When im working I dread the sight of some Hans Molemanesque old fart driving his pristine condition 1970s Austin Meastro exactly 10mph BELOW the fucking speed limit!
Anyone who has read my myspace blog on these twats will know my utter hatred for them.

85283-071 · « **Reply #43 on:** May 10, 2008, 06:29:31 PM »

I crossed the 150 mph line every day for six months out of every year for several years. I have been pulled over at triple digit speeds twice. Once, I was let go. The other time, a Connecticut State Trooper chatted with me for a bit and issued me a no points, $75 failure to obey a highway sign ticket.

Currently, my driving record is flawless. No tickets or insurance claims show up on my record for over ten years.

CeeGBee · « **Reply #44 on:** May 10, 2008, 07:03:52 PM »

Quote from: 85283-071 on May 10, 2008, 06:29:31 PM

I crossed the 150 mph line every day for six months out of every year for several years. I have been pulled over at triple digit speeds twice. Once, I was let go. The other time, a Connecticut State Trooper chatted with me for a bit and issued me a no points, $75 failure to obey a highway sign ticket.

Currently, my driving record is flawless. No tickets or insurance claims show up on my record for over ten years.

The lesson about how to deal with the officer who has stopped you is for advanced/gifted students.
The one about keeping it within a certain range of speeding is adequate for most beginners.

Oh, and Ms. Dangah, you don't ever go over the limit in the 'burbs? Hmmmm?

~*johanna*~ · « **Reply #45 on:** May 10, 2008, 07:13:23 PM »

I drive around the speed limit usually, maybe a little faster... but I swear, around where I live... people are such idiots! They are either riding my ass or they are in front of me going ten or more below the limit. Don't get me wrong, I love driving fast. When there's not many other cars on the highway, I enjoy speeding... but not when there are tons of other cars around you. My friend in high school, and many other people who live around here, have lost their lives because of bad driving habits. (And I'm not just talking about driving drunk.) Sorry but it's a sensitive issue with me.

Personally I feel most alive when doing these things...
-At a music concert. Whether it be seeing the local Symphony performing Pictures at an Exhibition live at the Santa Cruz Civic Center, or being in the crowd at a Gogol Bordello concert... if it's good music and everyone around me is enjoying it as much as I am, that is the best high in the world for me.
-Snowboarding down a long, white trail with nobody in the way... just hearing the noise beneath my feet and my breathing...
-Horseback Riding. I did this from high school until last year... I formed a real connection with the horse that I rode, and I miss her so much. (She passed on last year.)
-Boating. Rivers, the ocean, lakes, anything......I love being on the open water.

imaginary friend · « **Reply #46 on:** May 11, 2008, 02:14:24 AM »

Quote from: CeeGBee on May 10, 2008, 07:03:52 PM

Quote from: 85283-071 on May 10, 2008, 06:29:31 PM
I crossed the 150 mph line every day for six months out of every year for several years. I have been pulled over at triple digit speeds twice. Once, I was let go. The other time, a Connecticut State Trooper chatted with me for a bit and issued me a no points, $75 failure to obey a highway sign ticket.

Currently, my driving record is flawless. No tickets or insurance claims show up on my record for over ten years.
The lesson about how to deal with the officer who has stopped you is for advanced/gifted students.
The one about keeping it within a certain range of speeding is adequate for most beginners.

Lesson #1: be white.

Seriously - let a Latino (like me) or a black guy get caught doing that shit and watch what happens.

jdfu!

85283-071 · « **Reply #47 on:** May 11, 2008, 02:49:24 AM »

Quote from: CeeGBee on May 10, 2008, 07:03:52 PM

The lesson about how to deal with the officer who has stopped you is for advanced/gifted students.

I also have a very, very successful history with juggling residences and court dates to keep my record clean. Some of it was luck, but ... yeah, I'm not advising this. I am just showing off.

$ethie · « **Reply #48 on:** May 11, 2008, 03:23:57 AM »

Quote from: murmuringmurder on May 10, 2008, 01:41:12 AM

Quote from: Sethie on May 10, 2008, 01:14:24 AM
I feel pretty fucking alive right now.

I just got home, and I drove with the stereo blasting. Sethie's top speed for the night: 105mph. I rule.

HEY I went 110 tonight on the highway! Yay I love speeding. Mapquest told me it would take me 20 minutes to get to where i needed to go. I got there in 7.

Damn, you beat me. But it's okay, because my car tops out at 105. It goes faster downhill, but there are no good hills that are safe enough to go faster than 120.

Quote from: suzy.sacrilegend on May 10, 2008, 02:29:13 AM

you people are going to get yourselves killed. ~frowns~

You only say that because you're not cool enough to drive fast like us. If you lived close to me, I'd come pick you up and teach you how to drive really really fast.

Quote from: 85283-071 on May 10, 2008, 06:29:31 PM

I crossed the 150 mph line every day for six months out of every year for several years. I have been pulled over at triple digit speeds twice. Once, I was let go. The other time, a Connecticut State Trooper chatted with me for a bit and issued me a no points, $75 failure to obey a highway sign ticket.

Currently, my driving record is flawless. No tickets or insurance claims show up on my record for over ten years.

Caddy, on second thought, we'll let Mr. Numbers teach you how to drive fast. What the fuck were you driving that could go 150?

Also, semi-unrelated, but when I'm rich and famous I'm buying a Bugatti Veyron. It's the fastest street-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of 253mph ...that's like, four-hundred something kilometers per hour for you non-american folks.

My driving record is semi-clean. I've had three moving violations (all misdemeanors, one for driving over a median, one for failing to maintain a single lane, and one for street racing, which shouldn't even be there, but that's a long story) but no points or traffic school or anything. I've been pulled over twice for speeding, but I've gotten really cool cops. One of them knew my dad, and the other I used to party with in high school, which was just fucking trippy, because he smoked tons of weed back then. I think lesson #2 is pray that you know the cop that's pulling your over, or pray that you have dirt on him that could fuck up his career in the law enforcement field...like a picture of him ripping a bong. That's something which inevitably leads us to life lesson #1: Never let your friends take pictures of you doing anything illegal. They'll hold it against you forever.

85283-071 · « **Reply #49 on:** May 11, 2008, 07:44:19 AM »

Quote from: Sethie on May 11, 2008, 03:23:57 AM

What the fuck were you driving that could go 150?

More than one vehicle I have owned would do 150... or 170. The partner in crime which allowed such consistent speed was:

dangerpants · « **Reply #50 on:** May 11, 2008, 11:04:23 AM »

Quote from: CeeGBee on May 10, 2008, 07:03:52 PM

Oh, and Ms. Dangah, you don't ever go over the limit in the 'burbs? Hmmmm?

I sometimes go 30 on Main Street accidentally (because I don't need my foot on the gas in the slightest), but beyond that, I am so freaked out by the vanbeast's size and shakiness... And the number of cops in Hummelstown and Middletown...

Schplynthia · « **Reply #51 on:** May 22, 2008, 02:10:24 AM »

Singing at the top of my lungs when I'm all alone. Or on stage. That works too.
Painting to music in my headphones (dancing with color, really).
Walking around in the woods/fields at night.
And fucking, of course.

Hey, this is my first post. Nice to meet you.

angryinch · « **Reply #52 on:** May 22, 2008, 03:41:25 AM »

Walking in a public place, in a park or alone with amazing music playing in my headphones and feeling like the most awesome, creative, hilarious person to exist.

J_Beck · « **Reply #53 on:** May 23, 2008, 07:59:31 PM »

Quote from: Ancient One on May 11, 2008, 07:44:19 AM

Quote from: Sethie on May 11, 2008, 03:23:57 AM
What the fuck were you driving that could go 150?

More than one vehicle I have owned would do 150... or 170. The partner in crime which allowed such consistent speed was:

There's nothing like a sport bike at wide-open throttle to get the heart pumping, but they need to be able to do. 180 at least

Indja · « **Reply #54 on:** May 24, 2008, 12:52:23 PM »

Listening to the Clash (sounds lame, I know, but there you go!)

Driving on a motorway at night

Doing Badness - smoking various substances, being places I really oughtn't be, with people who I really shouldn't be with, and so on.

Schplynthia · « **Reply #55 on:** May 25, 2008, 05:22:42 PM »

Quote from: indie_ninja on May 24, 2008, 12:52:23 PM

Doing Badness - smoking various substances, being places I really oughtn't be, with people who I really shouldn't be with, and so on.

Second that one.

Indja · « **Reply #56 on:** May 26, 2008, 02:37:45 PM »

I think it's a common thing - probably a profound self-ruiny psychological fuck-up. Or maybe we all just like to kid ourselves we're rebels.

Mali · « **Reply #57 on:** May 26, 2008, 04:04:33 PM »

I love walking, with a vague destinaton but all the time in the world. Especially yesterday, when it was breezey, and the sun was setting. It was just fantastic.

Eden · « **Reply #58 on:** May 29, 2008, 02:23:52 PM »

speed, feeling the wind against my body and through my hair and when I just go so fast I begin to think how to stop without killing myself with a bad move

when performing something on stage, with the audience and all...

Holmes · « **Reply #59 on:** May 30, 2008, 04:37:43 AM »

when i've split my drumstick lengthways in two.

Indja · « **Reply #60 on:** May 30, 2008, 09:53:54 AM »

You play drums? I love you.

Add "falling in love with cyber-freaks" to my list.

Beth · « **Reply #61 on:** June 18, 2008, 06:31:58 AM »

I feel most alive when...

-I'm in a nice little cafe, reading poetry or writing some of my own, listening to the music that's piped in, sipping coffee and watching other people-seeing the way they behave and analysing thier body language

-When I'm walking in an autumn day and Im not wrapped up properly and I can feel the chill and the crunch of the fallen leaves underfoot...likewise being by the sea when it's misty or slightly rainy...likewise big forest in that really thin misty rain...gah love it-it's really refreshing.

-When I feel that adrenalin while having an argument or while being in a car that's speeding around a bendy road.

-And here's the cliched one- when I'm in the arms of my girlfriend

roboticvampire · « **Reply #62 on:** August 11, 2008, 05:38:05 AM »

When I've just finished writing something that's really fucking good. Or when I'm on drugs.

But I'm confused as to what you mean by "alive". Is it being aware of one's existence and mortality, or is it just when one feels fucking great?

imaginary friend · « **Reply #63 on:** August 13, 2008, 02:56:44 AM »

Quote from: roboticvampire on August 11, 2008, 05:38:05 AM

I'm confused as to what you mean by "alive". Is it being aware of one's existence and mortality, or is it just when one feels fucking great?

Fuck what I mean. What do you mean when you say it?

jdfu!

roboticvampire · « **Reply #64 on:** August 14, 2008, 05:53:18 AM »

Quote from: hurricane hugo on August 13, 2008, 02:56:44 AM

Quote from: roboticvampire on August 11, 2008, 05:38:05 AM
I'm confused as to what you mean by "alive". Is it being aware of one's existence and mortality, or is it just when one feels fucking great?

Fuck what I mean. What do you mean when you say it?

jdfu!

I just want a sense of direction so that this doesn't splinter off into a thousand directions because of the vagueness of the original question.

imaginary friend · « **Reply #65 on:** August 14, 2008, 04:56:42 PM »

no direction, no explanation.

jdfu!

roboticvampire · « **Reply #66 on:** August 16, 2008, 11:13:14 PM »

Quote from: hurricane hugo on August 14, 2008, 04:56:42 PM

no direction, no explanation.

jdfu!

no sense, no point.

Johnny · « **Reply #67 on:** August 23, 2008, 03:18:23 PM »

I feel most alive when I have a good conversation with the people I love over a delicious meal.

Indja · « **Reply #68 on:** August 26, 2008, 04:06:35 PM »

I can't say I do this regularly, so I'm not sure it works with the title of the thread in a grammatical sense, but yesterday my two cousins, one of their boyfriends and I sat around a camp-fire drinking tea and smoking the first dope I've had in over a year. AND THE NINJA SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD!

shibby · « **Reply #69 on:** August 26, 2008, 09:27:50 PM »

Human contact. Naughty or otherwise. =)

Surprisingly, booze and weed don't really do it for me.

caddy · « **Reply #70 on:** August 27, 2008, 04:26:48 AM »

being in front of people and singing. there's nothing like good old stage fright to remind you of your rather mundane, human existence.

Holmes · « **Reply #71 on:** September 02, 2008, 05:04:48 PM »

32-bar jazz drum solo

Edicius · « **Reply #72 on:** September 10, 2008, 11:23:58 PM »

Quote from: Nyyorkskyyikwawks'k on May 06, 2008, 03:05:53 AM

Several activities, such as high speed motorcycling and running in meadows, make me feel most alive. The list is longer but there is a common thread. They all work best in warmth and sunlight.

Do you mean when your body releases high amounts of adrenaline or endorphins? I wasn't sure how you'd answer this. I couldn't be more specific than to say "when I'm conscious."

MyGrassIsBlue · « **Reply #73 on:** September 11, 2008, 01:34:27 PM »

When I'm either here...

-or here-

CeeGBee · « **Reply #74 on:** September 11, 2008, 06:30:00 PM »

Quote from: MyGrassIsBlue on September 11, 2008, 01:34:27 PM

When I'm either here...

My brother lives quite near there....

Quote from: MyGrassIsBlue on September 11, 2008, 01:34:27 PM

-or here-

...and that would appear to be somewhere in the nearby mountains, but how far north or south I couldn't say.
(Not that it matters; it's all beautiful.)

MyGrassIsBlue · « **Reply #75 on:** September 11, 2008, 06:38:09 PM »

*waves at Cee* It's Heather silly. I forgot my other user name and pass, so I made a new account.

CeeGBee · « **Reply #76 on:** September 11, 2008, 06:56:45 PM »

Quote from: MyGrassIsBlue on September 11, 2008, 06:38:09 PM

*waves at Cee* It's Heather silly.

[heart stops]
performs self-CPR...

ah yes, THAT Heather...
(There's another one; she wasn't speaking to me last I checked; long dumb story.)

Quote from: MyGrassIsBlue on September 11, 2008, 06:38:09 PM

I forgot my other user name and pass, so I made a new account.

I'd noticed that shiny-shiny-boots-woman was missing. I figured you'd just gotten bored with us.
Welcome back.

Mr. Anagrammatism · « **Reply #77 on:** September 11, 2008, 08:43:04 PM »

Quote from: MyGrassIsBlue on September 11, 2008, 06:38:09 PM

*waves at Cee* It's Heather silly. I forgot my other user name and pass, so I made a new account.

I see you brought your fleas from VV.

MyGrassIsBlue · « **Reply #78 on:** September 12, 2008, 05:18:26 PM »

Quote from: CeeGBee on September 11, 2008, 06:56:45 PM

Quote from: MyGrassIsBlue on September 11, 2008, 06:38:09 PM
*waves at Cee* It's Heather silly.
[heart stops]
performs self-CPR...

ah yes, THAT Heather...
(There's another one; she wasn't speaking to me last I checked; long dumb story.)

Quote from: MyGrassIsBlue on September 11, 2008, 06:38:09 PM
I forgot my other user name and pass, so I made a new account.
I'd noticed that shiny-shiny-boots-woman was missing. I figured you'd just gotten bored with us.
Welcome back.

Thanks. It was sort of, intentional, yet, unintentional. I've been spending a lot of time with Billy the last 9 months doing anything and everything but sitting on my ass on a pc. Theres that, and I needed a break from here anyway. To many (don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to everyone) people aware of my personal life and I needed time to just focus on getting to know Heather again. I'm feeling much more self aware and stronger these days. Working a job I love, working on a relationship, just working on life in general. Thanks for the welcome back.

Anelis · « **Reply #79 on:** September 14, 2008, 02:38:23 AM »

i know it will sound silly, but the last time i really felt alive
was a week ago when i was giving the exams to enter art school
(and of course while i was drawing i was listening the first cd of the dolls! )

tw2113 · « **Reply #80 on:** September 15, 2008, 11:17:13 PM »

lately, very rarely

melissa · « **Reply #81 on:** September 16, 2008, 02:46:07 AM »

when free-falling 2 miles in the matter of 10 seconds before being spared certain death by a large piece of fabric.

Indja · « **Reply #82 on:** September 18, 2008, 10:23:23 AM »

Quote from: melissa on September 16, 2008, 02:46:07 AM

when free-falling 2 miles in the matter of 10 seconds before being spared certain death by a large piece of fabric.

God, I hope you're talking about parachuting or the like. Otherwise, you have weird hobbies...

melissa · « **Reply #83 on:** September 19, 2008, 08:20:36 PM »

Quote from: indie_ninja on September 18, 2008, 10:23:23 AM

Quote from: melissa on September 16, 2008, 02:46:07 AM
when free-falling 2 miles in the matter of 10 seconds before being spared certain death by a large piece of fabric.

God, I hope you're talking about parachuting or the like. Otherwise, you have weird hobbies...

skydiving.

JelliedFrogsOnToast · « **Reply #84 on:** October 03, 2008, 07:33:57 AM »

when i gallop a horse across a wide open space & they actually stop when i ask them to.
when i'm somewhere new & all i can see for miles around is open, uninhabited countryside / mountains / sea.
when someone is performing their music in front of me & i become totally transifixed by it.
when science manages to explain the weirdest & wonderful things.

Mr. Leave Me Alone · « **Reply #85 on:** October 06, 2008, 06:55:45 PM »

I tend to feel very disconnected from most situations so I suppose whenever someone is really fighting against me or really trying to get through to me.
Just making it obvious that they are there and there is something I need to feel and pay attention to.

.:The.Sophie:. · « **Reply #86 on:** December 20, 2008, 07:15:17 PM »

When i'm on stage!
The whole heart pounding and all eyes are on you thing is pretty fucking IMMENSE!

Indja · « **Reply #87 on:** December 21, 2008, 06:57:22 AM »

WHEN I'M SHAGGING YA MAM / YOUR MUM / YOUR MOM / YO MOMMA.

Pelle · « **Reply #88 on:** December 21, 2008, 09:20:36 AM »

Whenever I'm making music, or when I lost track of time (it happens most of the time when I'm on vacation), or when I notice that people like me having around.

madweasel · « **Reply #89 on:** December 22, 2008, 11:03:42 AM »

S'a tie between the time I spend with my lady love and performing.

One goes too fast but its the sort of intimacy that turns Einsteins case of relativity on its ear.

The other is perfected in the moment between when the little girl is trying to figure out if I'm real and is juuuuust convinced I must be fake...to when she's hiding behind her fathers pants legs peaking out giggling because I've finally moved.

Half Mar · « **Reply #90 on:** December 23, 2008, 02:40:48 PM »

Before, during and after a performance with my showband.

And if one person hugs me.

renegadeoptician · « **Reply #91 on:** December 23, 2008, 09:05:48 PM »

During Sex
Riding My Bike
Or Cooking

Or Maybe
Just Drinking the Right Amount
Not Too Much

Just Enough
To Relax the Tension
Of the Day

justinfire · « **Reply #92 on:** December 27, 2008, 03:50:53 AM »

If there's loud music, I feel more alive.
When I take risks, social or danger-based.

Tomatoes and Radiowire · « **Reply #93 on:** December 27, 2008, 03:58:54 AM »

when there's live music going on.
not just when somebody's playing something, when someone's pouring 3 parts soul into something.
if it's a punk band or someone just playing guitar (or piano or accordion perhaps)
there's just nothing more real than music that comes from an honest place.
now some music is filled with concept and detachment art and that can be really good too.
but there's nothing like poetry to make you see the kidney stone in the pit of your soul.

oh and new music/spoken-word/film/literature that matches up with me on some level.

mitrepeak · « **Reply #94 on:** January 04, 2009, 11:43:26 PM »

Bungee jumping makes me feel so alive. That's not really as nice as what everyone else has had to say, but nothing beats a 134m jump above a river in the most beautiful place in the world. It's terrifying but you just feel like you could do anything when you've done it.

Holmes · « **Reply #95 on:** January 05, 2009, 11:23:28 AM »

when i'm playing to people.

CaffeinatedCassadie · « **Reply #96 on:** January 06, 2009, 05:49:27 PM »

When i'm spending my time with these people.

FaultyNeonGlow · « **Reply #97 on:** January 06, 2009, 08:50:30 PM »

I feel alive when surrounded by friends (and sometimes family, but that is more hit or miss honestly)
I feel most alive when I'm talking/thinking about things I love, and am passionate about,
books, writing, story ideas, all sorts of genetics, the weird things I come up with at four in the morning, music.
And it'll be at the oddest times, lunch at school, during a movie, bantering on different forums, in the midst of a hissy fit
I also feel alive when I'm learning something new, I love to learn.
Wow that makes me a geek
I just feel alive a lot of the time.
When I'm reading a particularly good book
When I first get out of the shower and am all squeaky clean
When I cuddle my kitteh
Maybe I'm just easy to please

CookieJar · « **Reply #98 on:** January 07, 2009, 11:50:30 AM »

I feel alive when i can go to big city and just walk, walk and at the same time watch the people, who rush, laughing, running or wahtever they are doing. In that time, i'm one of them.

Andy Pants · « **Reply #99 on:** January 07, 2009, 12:09:48 PM »

Quote from: CookieJar on January 07, 2009, 11:50:30 AM

I feel alive when i can go to big city and just walk, walk and at the same time watch the people, who rush, laughing, running or wahtever they are doing. In that time, i'm one of them.

You're not a serial killer are you?

Because that's some serious Dexter shit right there

CookieJar · « **Reply #100 on:** January 07, 2009, 12:12:18 PM »

No not yet

.

lox · « **Reply #101 on:** January 07, 2009, 12:19:28 PM »

When I'm on a stage doing the things I love.
When I hear a song for the first time and it blowes me away
when I know exactly what I want to do.
When I listen to music that will stir my emotions
When I'm on a concert front row singing out loud

Grim Tuesday · « **Reply #102 on:** January 09, 2009, 02:08:30 AM »

A perfect sentence.

CeeGBee · « **Reply #103 on:** January 09, 2009, 02:10:36 AM »

Quote from: Grim Tuesday on January 09, 2009, 02:08:30 AM

A perfect sentence.

Okay, you've got a subject...

Now just add a verb, and perhaps an object, and you'll be done.

Grim Tuesday · « **Reply #104 on:** January 09, 2009, 02:12:37 AM »

Nope, I like to break rules.

CeeGBee · « **Reply #105 on:** January 09, 2009, 02:16:11 AM »

Quote from: Grim Tuesday on January 09, 2009, 02:12:37 AM

Nope, I like to break rules.

H - Y - P - O - C - R - I - T - E

Hypocrite.

(I suppose, if one teaches "Language Arts," one might claim 'artistic license'.)

Grim Tuesday · « **Reply #106 on:** January 09, 2009, 02:20:29 AM »

I always tell my students, "First learn all the rules, and then decide which ones need to be broken."

The big one at my school now is hair color.

I had the person who does my hair streak it red. It's cool, if I pull it back you can barely see the highlights. If I wear it any other way it is bright red. It's my stealth haircut.

sinister · « **Reply #107 on:** February 08, 2009, 11:30:17 AM »

I just don't feel it anymore since I had PTSD 10 years ago.

buttercup. · « **Reply #108 on:** February 09, 2009, 04:31:04 PM »

Quote from: CeeGBee on January 09, 2009, 02:16:11 AM

Quote from: Grim Tuesday on January 09, 2009, 02:12:37 AM
Nope, I like to break rules.
H - Y - P - O - C - R - I - T - E

Hypocrite.

(I suppose, if one teaches "Language Arts," one might claim 'artistic license'.)

Now I have Jack Off Jill stuck in my head.

Alyss · « **Reply #109 on:** February 13, 2009, 11:45:28 AM »

Now. Wait......no, now.....wait....no, now.....hold on, wait.....no now!

News:

Author Topic: When do you feel most alive? (Read 11408 times)