To Live Fully: A Lesson from Oscar Wilde

/ By Alan Reiner

/ June 13, 2025

PHOTO BY VANNGO NG ON PEXELS

“To Live Is the Rarest Thing in the World,” a quote by Oscar Wilde, challenges common ideas about existence. Most people go through life without truly living, missing the depth and richness life can offer.

This idea pushes readers to rethink how they spend their time and what it means to be alive. It’s a reminder from Wilde that living fully takes awareness and intention—not just breathing.

Choosing Life Over Mere Existence

Living means embracing experience, not just surviving. It’s choosing awareness and letting each moment count instead of drifting through time untouched.

This choice turns routines into rituals. It means engaging with purpose over passivity, seeking growth over stagnation, and valuing moments instead of letting them slip by.

As one post puts it: “Give me ecstasy, agony, sheer bliss… a life truly lived.” To live is to feel deeply, burn brightly, and begin again—right now, with courage and joy:

Embracing The Unconventional Path

Meaning often unfolds when stepping away from predictability. Choosing an unconventional path means accepting uncertainty and letting change shape the journey rather than resisting it.

Traits of this path include openness to new experiences, flexibility in plans, and the courage to fail and grow. It’s about living authentically, not rebelliously—valuing personal truth over external approval.

As explored in the following video, this mindset can lead to unexpected freedom, deeper satisfaction, and a more vivid experience of life:

The Art Of Being Present

Being present begins by noticing—soft sounds, quiet gestures, the rhythm of breath. It means staying with the moment instead of chasing the past or fearing what’s next.

The following post reminds us that mindfulness isn’t about perfection:

It’s about simply being real. Sitting in silence with a friend, hand over heart, saying “Want to breathe together for a minute?”—that’s presence. No script, no performance, just being.

Presence brings calm, clarity, and connection. Simple, real, human.

Alan Reiner

Alan Reiner

Hi, my name is Alan Reiner and I have been in the writing industry for almost seven years. I write articles that can span from 200 words all the way to 20,000 words every single day. How do I do it? With a lot of determination. All my way through school and college, I hated long-form assignments. I could never get into the groove of working on one piece for an extended period of time. My pieces were always late because I didn’t have the motivation to type them, let alone edit them.