Yesterday I wrote about really living. Here is a story from 1999 where the idea first hit home to me:
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It's a little after 7:00 a.m. and I'm at the airport on my way to Philly. I met an interesting man this morning. As I was walking towards the airport from the parking lot, a limo driver began walking alongside me. He was dapper looking in a dark suit and bow tie. I was lost in my thoughts when I heard him ask a question. "What was the last exciting day you had?"

Interesting question from a stranger before I've even woken up. "I can't recall; it's been a while," I responded.

"You need to do something different today. You know, a lot of people live, but are they truly alive? They think they're free, but they never exercise their freedom. It's like they're asleep as life goes on about them," my philosopher friend went on.

"Well, I am going to inner city Philadelphia," I said, almost apologetically, "that should be exciting."

About that time I saw that the train to my gate was off to the left. I thanked him for stimulating my thinking and said goodbye. Cutting through the atrium, I noticed the people sleeping on chairs pulled together, coats draped over them. The man's words echoed in my head. I wondered how many people I know who truly are alive to the possibilities all around them. How many choose to do anything new or out of the ordinary in a given day? I wished that I had longer to talk to the man. I went through the security check and down the escalator.

As I was walking up to the train, I noticed that he was standing there, waiting. He smiled broadly at me.

"So you're wondering how I got here ahead of you, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah, I was thinking about you. I was wondering if you find your life exciting."

"My life IS exciting. I pick up a lot of folks in the entertainment business. Many of them think that money can buy them the stuff that they want, but money doesn't do it for them."

By now the train was leaving, and my stop loomed ahead, but my friend was just picking up a head of steam.

"Folks need to breathe. People only take in 10% of the oxygen that they have the capacity to breathe. People need to LIVE."

I never learned his name, but I shook his hand and thanked him for his insights.

As I stepped on the next escalator I was thinking, "Am I really living? Am I breathing at my God-given capacity?"

Are you?