Proof of Life

Proof of Life
I misheard something this morning.  I do no remember what was being said but I heard “proof of life.”  It got me thinking about that term.  I remember seeing the movie ages ago called Proof of Life.  It starred Meg Ryan and Russel Crow.  It got a terrible review from Rotten Tomatoes.  It said despite a superstar cast it was a run of the mill thriller and offered nothing new.
I told Merril I was writing about proof of life and she showed me a section of a book in which she had just read about it.  I really liked what they contended.  Proof of life is shown by reacting with the environment.   I interact with my environment via my senses. Including air and breathing.  If I am not communicating with my environment, it is pretty hard to prove I am alive.  
I also looked up a dictionary.  It is basically a term used when negotiating with kidnappers to establish that the object of the ransom is still alive.  I read what must have been written by someone who had been involved in negotiations.  They said it often leads kidnappers to ask questions of the kidnapped and informs the kidnapped that negotiations have started.  It gives reassurance.
It amazes me how looking things up opens other things I have never considered.  Like if a person is an Australian living overseas and is over 80 and gets a benefit from the Australian government, they have that person fill out a proof of life form every two years.
I also came across the question.  If something were an alien, rather than a pile of rocks, how would I know?  The person writing the article is an Astrobiologist and did their thesis on this topic.  Researchers decided a photo would give a fair evidence of design. I was surprised to see design mentioned, but it went on to attribute any changes to natural selection.   Still, that is a fair question I reckon, but it seems to me if the alien took human form on earth, it would be fairly easy to prove they were not of this planet.  But the closer something is to the real thing, the harder it is to prove it is anything but.
Give someone a poke and there is generally proof of life.  For someone ticklish a tickle does the trick.  I would try to prove I was not ticklish.  I worked on the theory that people would stop tickling me before they found out I really was.  Someone walking about is a good proof of life to.  It sounds pretty somber but when someone is no longer with us, there is no proof of life.  The expression is frozen and unmoving.
But for me proof of life on the outside is easy.  Proof of life on the inside is another matter.  Communication seems the key to me.  I am very strong on the fact that we all need help at some stage and guys in particular do not find asking for it easy.  So for me when it is asked for, it is a known need.
Proof of life to me is on two levels.  I see it as something for this life and the next.  That changes everything.  It is easy to prove proof of life by sight.  It is harder to prove proof of life for something unseen.  But at the very least I will know.