One is alive when they are validated by others.  The first of the ten principles of Unitarian Universalism is the "inherent worth and dignity of each individual."  By giving this validation of the individual as a person of worth, one becomes "alive". Validation is directly linked to reality. When something is given validity, it is given worth or substance. Validating with dignity lies directly in recognizing genuiness and uniqueness of the individual, and observing this as a genuine process in the quality of one being alive.

Human Dignity is a major theme in the Church's treasury of Catholic Social Teaching, and we have seen that in our time it has also entered into the moral, ethical, legal and political discourse on rights. When we speak of Human Dignity, we do not mean the Dignity that another creature or created artifact might possess, since they do not merit the same type of respect(Moltmann 1984, 9)as that which is now recognized to be fundamentally and universally accorded to Human Beings.

In our case there is something inherent or intrinsic to ourselves, that is our humanity, that is worthy of honour and respect.Human Dignity was referenced in the secular world when nations affirmed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declaring that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” - Matthew Charlesworth Papers

 To answer this question personally, one must first define the concepts of "being alive" and "the dignity of every person" as separate concepts, and then determine how each influence the other. After defining the concepts, one can begin to assign meaning and correlation or causality. 

 To be alive is to have dignity, worth, equality and freedom while simultaneously having others validate this inherent worth.