This paper proposes a characterization of minimal sentience through three conditions: active self-maintenance, historical adaptability, and autonomous agency. Drawing on empirical observations across biological scales, we demonstrate how these conditions manifest in observable patterns of organization. We employ this framework to examine a fundamental challenge in cognitive science: the relationship between computational models and consciousness. We argue that shifting focus from computational properties to concrete patterns of organization may offer a more promising path for understanding the distinction between sentient and non-sentient systems. This approach has implications for how we conceptualize consciousness in both natural and artificial systems.