The good life?
Knowledge is important. Money is remarkably useful. Education is extremely vital. Having a/the good life is ideal.
Wait ... Define good life: lets say, ... best schools, hottest lady/guy, coolest ride, biggest mansion, latest designs most envied for position and ... I don't know what else. or lets say: ... ... a life of love, happiness, peace of mind, contentment, comfort, fulfillment, or lets say: ... ..as defined by a friend of mine, a good life is one with meaning, purpose and satisfaction. Period. And so on ... and I'd add ... it's relative.
The
world seems to continually set living standards for us. Many people get ahead
of themselves trying to "fit in."
Putting
up appearances, competing with Tom and Harry, proving a point to Sarah and
Jane, flashing and flaunting it to no one in particular, frantically searching
for happiness and fulfillment, living up to something or even someone are the
order of the day.
We do all we can to paint the outside so beautifully, never considering the inside yet its the inside I believe that determines the true beauty reflected on the outside. We keep chasing after getting that latest model and newest I dont know what so much that the things that really matter start to fade.
We forget what it feels like to sit under a tree and feel that gentle breeze on your skin, what it feel likes to be surrounded by people that really love us, what it feels like to be calm and quiet; not searching and chasing and trying to catch this and that, what it feels like to see the sun rise or set {I had to add that one :)} what it feels like to lie on your bed, reading a good book, to laugh.
Our hearts begin to grow cold and hard, become insensitive to the things we ought to be sensitive to and vice versa, take for granted things we shouldn't, we start to fight, to hate, take things that don't belong to us and so on. The simple things in life, the humble beginnings, the not so classy have a certain power that makes a whole lot of a difference.
I
have found my self caught up in similar mazes before. Worried about what people
think, worried about the this and that that I don't know and have, targeting a
goal only to prove a point, working at certain things just to at least fit
in, taking certain directions coz many
have trod that way..... its pointless, totally!
Yes,
at times the pressure is too much; you seem to be pushed to the wall, to get up
to the 'standards' but you've got to keep focused too. One can only run as fast
as their legs can carry them, the important thing is to keep running and to get
there.
Me
thinks, the simple things are the foundation on which the greater ones stand. Where
you are at now will be important history too someday; a land mark, a turning
point.
What matters is the individual within, knowing who you are and whose you are, what you're made of, your unique qualities and what you are capable of doing. What matters is that you are alive, that at any point of your life and age you can make a difference; make this world a better place.
Do not live an ignorant, lazy, broke, unnecessarily low standard life; work really hard but more importantly in all your endeavours DO NOT end up a moving vacuum- walking emptiness and deadness. When you sit back with yourself be sure to be "full" coz no matter how much you are endowed with knowledge, money, fame and status; if you're empty within then everything else is not just as empty too but painful to dress up in.
Being healthy, creating deep relationships with family and friends, having a sense of purpose, and feeling like you belong are major components of a happy life. What's more, those ingredients are just as true for those in their 20s as those in their 70s -- and in the midst of a recession, too, according to MetLife's Mature Market Institute 2010 Meaning Really Matters study, which is based on the work of Richard J. Leider, author of "The Power of Purpose."
Can
you imagine that simplicity......... as simply put by my friend, a good life is
one with meaning, purpose and satisfaction. Period. :)
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