Alive - by Dave Smith

INTRODUCTION
FULLY ALIVE
I wonder if you can remember a time when you felt particularly alive?
One example springs to mind for me, because it was when I was
writing a draft of this book! I was enjoying a three-week break in a
beautiful apartment in Plettenberg Bay on the Western Cape (South
Africa). It was January, so summer there. The days were long, the
weather was generally sunny and warm, and the setting was
stunning. Walking barefoot along the sandy beaches, exploring the
surrounding countryside, eating good food and having plenty of time
to pray, study, meditate and write seemed like an oasis – I felt
spiritually, emotionally and physically alive.
But life is not always so idyllic. Several months later I’m writing
again, while grieving the very recent loss of my dear mum. You might
be experiencing a similarly challenging situation or season – whether
it be the death of a loved one, the breakdown of a relationship,
pressure at work or the loss of work, an acute sense of
disappointment, a paralysing fear or a severe sense of failure – all of
which can leave you feeling anything but fully alive.
But feeling ‘dead’ or ‘alive’ is not just circumstantial. It’s possible to
still thrive in tough times, and it’s possible to feel dissatisfied even
when outwardly life is relatively easy. Take Justin Bieber, for
example, someone with so much going for him, who posted on his