What defines a good life?

I believe that a good life is defined by a series of epiphanies, of realizations. But, before I answer this query, I must first ask a question. Do I know that I am truly alive? Do I think and therefore I am, to paraphrase Descartes. (1) If yes, only then may I proceed.

When I awake in the morning, the very first realization that comes to mind is a deep appreciation for the gift of life. I am alive. The chances of that being possible are infinitesimally small, (2) I thus revel in the gift of life. God, Gaia or the Universe has, once again, given me an opportunity to be me. I am awash with gratitude, humility, and thankfulness for everything I have been given — all the gifts I have received — my bed is clean and warm, and I am safe — to name but a few. Then my thoughts turn to the people I love and who love me — my family and friends. I am fortunate to have such relationships.

This is quickly followed by a burst of energy. It is another new day and I have a lot of tasks that I must accomplish. I have a tendency to dismiss the weather. It is simply the background that I find myself in. It must not dominate my overall mood, unless, I want it to influence me. The emphasis here being that I decide how I feel about the day. After my ablutions, I write in my notebook, do my yoga and proceed into the world.

Much like most human beings, I have work that dominates a large portion of my life. It is essential, I feel, that we find a career that puts us in a state of flow. (3)

“The best moments in our lives, are not the passive, receptive, and relaxing times — although such experiences can be enjoyable if we have worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when the person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult or worthwhile.” It takes time to come to this reality. A devotion to my mission is called for to arrive at this point in time.

The final piece to my quick analysis of a good life is health. I must keep my fitness. Now, to be fair, life is fickle. Bad things do happen. We do contract illnesses and maladies, we do get sick and, ultimately, we will leave this plane of existence. All this being true, I must make a constant effort to maintain my health. As I mentioned before, a doctor in India once told me, the body is like an old elegant Mercedes Benz: change the oil, replace the headlights, and rotate the tires — and it will run for over 500,000 kilometers.

Thus to me a good life is defined by four precepts: Firstly we must acknowledge that we exist, we are alive. This means that I am fully and responsibly capable of action in my life. I can affect change in the world. Secondly, I am fortunate to have deep emotional contacts around me — my family, friends, and associates. Thirdly, I laud my career and its contribution to society, however small, and finally, my health. I am in control of my health, within reason. The great religious scholar Jan Hus, (4) leaves us with a thought: I entreat masters to live a good life and faithfully to instruct their scholars, especially that they may love God and learn to give themselves to knowledge, in order to promote His honor, the welfare of the state, and their own salvation, but not for the sake of avarice or the praise of man.

A closing thought: Are most people alive? Given the events in the world, both present and past, I cannot believe that this is the realization of the average person. Human interaction is rife with pain, suffering, anger, and violence. This surely precludes a refined level of consciousness. My assertion is that most people are asleep. Yes, individuals get up in the morning and go about their business, but they do not stop and reflect on their gift of life.

They staff our bureaucracies and fight in our wars, but do they appreciate the true value of the human community and its potential? Do they truly understand what a true blessing sentience is? I think not. If they did then the unspeakable horrors of human history would begin to slowly diminish over time. This is not happening — think Ukraine! Our task, therefore, as parents, teachers, students, and citizens is to promote critical thinking skills — to awaken human society to its possibilities by living peacefully and truly learning to love one another.

To sum up: This week we spoke about what defines a good life?

To be noted: From a Persian proverb — A blind person who sees is better than a seeing person who is blind.

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