Is there a difference? (just alive / just living)

Hi,

I'd like to know if there's a difference when giving the following answers on let's say: What are you doing?

- I am just alive!

- I am just living!

My guess would be:

I am just alive: Would refer to I am physically alive. Probably not really living, just being alive.

I am just living: Would refer to I am enjoying life. Doing what I love to do.

So, in the first case (alive), the answer would be associated to a negative emotion and in the second case (living) to a positive emotion.

Is this correct or am I totally wrong? I'd like to know the emotional background because I want to use one of the phrases as a title for an article. But the article points out the beauty of life, that I enjoy living. I know I could also say I am truly living, but it should be one of the two mentioned phrases.

Thanks for any help...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zazulu

Hi,

I'd like to know if there's a difference when giving the following answers on let's say: What are you doing?

- I am just alive!

- I am just living!

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Only the second is an answer to the question.

If you call it "I am just living", I would find it ambiguous. You could mean that you are really enjoying life, but you could also mean that you are merely, or only, living. You are doing no more than that. You are just living day to day. Usually, that situation would be worded "I am merely existing". As you said, "I am truly living" would be much better, as would "I am really living!" Why does it have to be one of the phrases you offered?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raymott

Only the second is an answer to the question.

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OK, I shouldn't have used the example with the question. But good to know anyways. :)

When not taken the question into account, do the phrases have a different meaning in terms of expressing positive and negative emotions? This is the only thing I really would like to know.

I was researching a bit and I found different uses of both phrases, for instance...

Someone wrote: I was just alive, not really living...

Another person wrote: I was just alive, not merely living anymore...

Here it's clear. In the first phrase "alive" is associated to a negative emotion, in the second phrase to a positive emotion. Of course this depends on the context. But what kind of emotions act on a reader when he reads the phrases as a stand alone title?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zazulu

When not taken the question into account, do the phrases have a different meaning in terms of expressing positive and negative emotions? This is the only thing I really would like to know.

I was researching a bit and I found different uses of both phrases, for instance...

Someone wrote: I was just alive, not really living...

Another person wrote: I was just alive, not merely living anymore...

Here it's clear. In the first phrase "alive" is associated to a negative emotion, in the second phrase to a positive emotion. Of course this depends on the context. But what kind of emotions act on a reader when he reads the phrases as a stand alone title?

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If I read the second quote (underlined above), I would not see it as relating to a positive emotion. In fact, I would find it rather ambiguous. For me "to be just alive" is pretty much the same as "merely living". Had it said "I was truly/really/properly/totally alive, not just living ..." it would make sense.

Thanks a lot! Got my answer! :)