Do we truly live, or do we merely exist? The answer often depends on one thing: freedom. When we are free, we feel alive. When we are alive, we feel fulfilled. And when we feel fulfilled, we are truly living. Otherwise, we are only surviving.
The other day, I was reading an article about pigeons, and something caught my attention. It said that wild pigeons live around five years, while pigeons in captivity can live fifteen years or more.
That made me wonder:
Is it better to live longer with everything you need to survive, but without freedom?
Or is it better to live less, with fewer comforts, but truly free?
Of course, I cannot think like a pigeon. I cannot know what they would choose. But I can think as a human being. And as humans, like all living beings, we have a deep need for freedom.
None of us truly wants to live in captivity — even if that captivity looks comfortable.
Or do we?
“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Then I asked myself something uncomfortable: Isn’t this how many of us are living? Aren’t we trapped inside our comfort zones?
Our comfort zone often becomes a cage. A place where we feel safe enough to survive, but not brave enough to truly live. We exist. We function. We repeat. But do we feel alive?
Living inside our comfort zone gives us the illusion of freedom. It makes us believe that we are happy because we are comfortable. But comfort is not the same as fulfillment.
We stay where we are because leaving feels risky. It means uncertainty. It means vulnerability. It means the possibility of failure. So we choose safety over growth. Familiarity over passion. Routine over dreams. And slowly, without noticing, we begin to live smaller than we could.
“Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery.” – Wayne Dyer
Ask yourself:
Free or caged?
Safe or alive?
Comfortable or fulfilled?
If you knew you had only one year left to live, would you keep living the same way?
If the answer is no, then maybe something needs to change. Because the truth is, our future is never guaranteed. No matter how secure we think we are, life is fragile. Any moment can be our moment. So what matters is not just how long we live — but how deeply. What is the point of living eighty years if we never truly lived? Maybe we had a stable life. Maybe we were responsible. Maybe we followed the rules. And that is valuable.
But did we follow our heart?
Did we chase at least one dream?
Did we dare to start over?
Did we take risks?
Did we explore?
Did we grow?
Did we choose courage over fear at least sometimes?
If we never left our comfort zone, never trusted ourselves, never dared to be fully alive — then we only existed.
The truth is simple: Your life belongs to you. Only you can decide how to live it. Only you can choose whether to stay safe or become free. True living is not about perfection. It is not about luxury. It is not about approval. It is about alignment. Living in a way that reflects who you really are. To live is to listen to your heart. To live is to choose growth.
To live is to be free. Everything else is just surviving.