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I ran across this clip on Facebook called the Good Life Project. Jonathan Fields, the founder of this project, asked 29 influential people on what they believed constituted the good life. In the four-minute excerpt on the website, one learns that everyone’s answer is different.
It pushed me to pause and consider how I define my version of the good life. In these barren times of busyness, I’ve never sat down and distilled it down to a word, sentence, or a particular instance. I am not certain if the good life can be measured by just one thing. For me, it is a compilation of a microcosm of several little moments. Here they are:
The good life is waking up from a restful night of sleep, donning my running shoes and breathing the air of early morning and watching the sun rise behind the mountains.
The good life is my morning cup of coffee that accompanies me to my office. I take a sip, turn on my computer, and have the privilege to either start my day with reading or writing.
The good life is having the honor of watching my little girl plant a kiss on my cheek just because she feels like it. When I ask her what prompted her to do so, she laughs and says “Because I love you.”
The good life is one where gratitude drives your being. I often think of one of my favorite quotes in context of this sentiment by Meister Eckhart, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
The good life is one that is filled with love. To love someone and to be loved carves the real texture in our lives. That becomes our legacy.
The good life is accepting who you are. The strengths and struggles are yours. No one else can lay claim to them.
The good life. How do you define yours?
Welcome! I am a lawyer turned freelance writer, essayist, and editor. On staff at Literary Mama and the co-founder and co-editor of the literary journal, The Sunlight Press, my essays and reported work have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lily, Saveur, Civil Eats, Brain, Child, ESPN and elsewhere. I am currently at work on a memoir on grief and culture and how it provides perspective on life’s ordinary graces. I invite you to appreciate the ordinary with me. I hope my daily practice of seeing the magic in the mundane helps you celebrate and find more of these moments in your life too.
The good life can’t be bought, can it? It consists of the simple everyday things which make up our days.
Susan,
That’s just it. Much of what I wrote revolved around the ordinary. Your comment reminded me of Annie Dillard’s quote,”How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.”
Waking up in the morning to find my best friend and partner on my left and my son to my right. 🙂 Happy Friday Rudri great topic! -Iva
Iva,
That is great way to start the day. Waking up with your loved ones is definitely part of the good life. It provides a comfort that cannot be found elsewhere. Have a good weekend, Iva.
I really like this post and all the things that you wrote, Rudri. It all resonates deeply with me and I agree with each one. In particular, I love what you wrote about having the luxury and privilege of being able to choose reading and writing as a way to start off each day. Having gone through an extended period of time in which I had to get dressed and battle a commute each and every day, as I know you have, I really appreciate the freedom of working out of my home and having a flexible schedule.
Yes, the good life to me is all those things that you wrote: tranquility, freedom, flexibility, gratitude, love….
If you don’t mind I’d love to steal your idea and do the same exercise on my blog next week 🙂
Cecilia,
I am so grateful the words resonated with you. If you haven’t seen the clip on the website, please do. It is only four minutes long and is very inspiring.
I wrote about writing and reading because I too, years ago, experienced the race. Commuting almost 2 hours to work (one way) and living a life that had me running around circles really makes me appreciate my time in the mornings. It is a luxury and privilege.
So excited that you will participate in this exercise! I cannot wait to hear your thoughts on what constitutes your good life.
I agree with SuziCate. The good life is the ability to fully appreciate and experience the little things.
The good life is all these things. 🙂 The good life is also inner peace and compassion and help we can share with others. Great post !
Ayala,
Inner peace is a great characterization for the good life. It is elusive for many of us, but I believe most of us work toward this peace by taking comfort in moments where we are content and not yearning to be elsewhere. Fully embracing the present is a characteristic of inner peace. I am glad you enjoyed the post, Ayala. Thanks for your insight.
Beautiful insight. I’ve never tried to articulate the good life before either. While I want to take some time to really think it over, I would have to say that part of the good life for me is being held by the man I love while I fall asleep. And my chocolate peanut butter oatmeal in the morning.
Shannon,
This question also prompted me to pause and reflect. I never quite articulated specifics on what the good life meant to me, so it definitely proved to be a comforting exercise. Thanks for offering your version of the good life.
The good life for me is having all my needs met. That’s the first thing that came to mind so I’ll go with that and stop there for now.
Stopping by from SITS Saturday Sharefest!
Welcome Yvonne!
Needs being met sounds like an important characterization of the good life. Thanks for adding your insight.
That sure sounds like the good life to me! In my life lately, the good life would look like all of us (my husband and boys) home, healthy, and well-rested… with no snow on the ground so we can go outside and play outside together!
Sarah,
I love how your good life centers around play and fun, home and health. This definitely sounds like an exquisite life. Thanks for sharing your version.
I REALLY loved this post. You came up with some amazing things that are definitely my definition of the good life as well. Sitting here with my laptop and browsing through different blogs and reading inspiring content like this something I consider the good life 🙂 Thanks for sharing this!
Jessica,
Welcome!
I also love incorporating reading and writing as way to experience the good life. There is something comforting about reading words that truly resonate. I think it makes us all feel less alone.
I appreciate your thoughtful comment.
This was such a nice post to start my day with (it’s 9:40 am here in Germany). In my humble opinion, you’ve got a lock on what ‘the good life’ is – or at the very least, we seem to value and appreciate a lot of the same things. For me, the most important mark of a good life is to love and be loved and to have someone to share the adventure with – whether that’s a husband, a wife, a child or two, or a good friend.
Being loved and loving someone is the hallmark of a good life. If you can create a sense of adventure with that person, then it is a bonus.
Thanks so much for waking up to my space this morning.
That thank you quote is my all time favorite. I needed this reminder of what really is a good life.
That quote has so much power and is also on my top 10 list.
I am glad that these words resonated with you. xo