Live vs. Exist

"In Time" was one movie I wished I saw on the big screen. Unfortunately it was shown here in the Philippines last December; the same time that I and my then fiancè were busy preparing for our wedding. It was only last night that I had the opportunity to watch it, thanks to my brother in law who has a dvd copy of the movie.

It has always been a habit for me to internalize a movie and I apply the story to my own life. And with the movie In Time, I did just that. Questions popped in my head like: what if I was also genetically engineered to live only for 25 years? Should I also steal or kill just to add more time to my years? Would this be the solution to my obsession with immortality and to be forever young and beautiful?

When I reached the age of 40, the past years of my existence panned in front of me. Where am I headed? What could I have done differently? What is in store for me in my 40's and beyond? I have a fear for what is unknown and the search for answers to these questions really scared me!

But then I was pacified with the thought that yes, I have a God who secures my future, I have a healthy body for me to be able to work, I have a loving family, wife and daughter and I got
a huge friend-base whom I can count on whenever and wherever.

And that is the difference between 'living' and 'existing.' Living for me is experiencing life untiredly chasing your dreams and your passsions; while 'existing' is just experiencing the daily grind of life without any direction or vision. In the movie, Will (Justin Timberlake) 'lived' his life while Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried), despite of her fortune, just 'existed.'

So taking off from In Time's plot, I am giving all of you a hypothetical question: "If your life is programmed only to last for 25 years, how are you going to live it?"

For me, I would lived it the same way...The first 25 years of my life were the best years of my existence. And as the clichè goes, "I would not change a thing."

Would you?