What Is a Good Life?

"I know it seem a little bit strange sometimes…everybody live a little, everybody die… but that’s life / whatchu gonna do?" – Mac Miller

What is a Lifeview?

In my previous blog post, I introduced the concept of a Workview and thought through what mine looks like. The counterpart to the Workview is the Lifeview, which is also introduced in Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Dave Evans and Bill Burnett. Like the Workview, a Lifeview outlines the essential values that shape your understanding of – well - life.

Questions to Ponder

Much like with my last post, I’m going to spend some time in this post dissecting my own Lifeview using some of the guiding questions provided by Evans and Burnett. These questions, at least upon initial reading, are much more daunting. These are the big questions of life. Again, the thoughts below are how I personally consider these questions. The suggested question to help define a Lifeview are as follows:

Why are we here?

What is the meaning or purpose of life?

What is the relationship between the individual and others?

Where do family, country, and the rest of the world fit in?

What is good, and what is evil?

Is there a higher power, God, or something transcendent, and if so, what impact does this have on your life?

What is the role of joy, sorrow, justice, injustice, love, peace, and strife in life?

My Thoughts on My Lifeview

We’re starting right away with a doozy: why are we here? In my short life, I think I already have some different answers. Currently, I’m not sure there’s an exact reason. Why is any given leaf on the sidewalk there as you pass by? Why is the car in the parking spot next to you silver? I think we’re here because of what came before us – we are the outcome of a series of events, both influenced by us and before our time.

If why we’re here isn’t entirely within our control, the purpose of our life is somewhat the opposite. Our life’s purpose is for us to define - yet another daunting idea. I haven’t fully uncovered my purpose, but I think it has something to do with helping those around me. I want to do something intentional with my life, and I want to help people feel better. Maybe that’s through telling stores. I’m not entirely sure yet.

My early premonitions of a purpose segue somewhat nicely into the next question. I believe there’s inherently a connection between the individual and those around them. I want to interact with the world. My favorite memories throughout my life thus far involve the people with whom I’ve been surrounded. For example, when studying abroad in Scotland in 2018, I didn’t travel a ton throughout Europe. Instead, I immensely enjoyed making new friends from a part of the world with which I wasn’t as familiar. To this day, I miss those friends way more than any one place in the United Kingdom or Europe.

I picture those relationships as concentric circles, although – in the age of technology and social media – physical distance doesn’t define the closer ones. I have friends in New York for whom I would do anything even when I am thousands of miles away. We owe the most to our friends and family. From there, community comes next then so on and so on.

The subject of good vs. evil is yet another doozy in this list of heavy hitters. There are probably infinite definitions for these two words. To stick with the theme I see forthcoming, I think good – simply put – is helping others. This could be in little ways, such as holding open a door, or it could be in bigger ways, like donating a kidney. Goodness, I think, is anytime a person does something to help another person. Conversely, evil is when we forget about or choose to ignore others. Evil is the siloing of the individual.

Much like with the “why we’re here” question, I’m currently less sure about a higher power. These are just my personal thoughts, which I don’t want to use to deny anyone else’s opinion on this matter. I think religion can be a good thing when it brings people together in a positive and healthy community. I think one of the noblest things an individual can do is good for no specific reason, though. A person helping others with no supernatural payout in mind but rather because it’s the right thing to do is incredibly noble in my opinion.

I’m going to summarize the final question into “what is the purpose of emotion in life?” Emotions are the colors that help us create the painting that is life. They can be delightful to experience or dreadful, but I try to remind myself that even the negative emotions are beautiful. The actor Andrew Garfield, while on Sesame Street, discusses his mom’s death and how grief – while very difficult – is a gift. “It means you really love someone,” he says. He then continues with how the grief only exists because of all the happy memories he has of her.

What’s Next?

Phew – this post was a lot more in depth than the Workview one. These questions seemed to strike more at the heart of things; I wasn’t expecting that large of a departure from the Workview given that the questions were written by the same authors. The final step, as recommended in the book, is to review your completed Workview and Lifeview and analyze how the two complement each other and how they clash against each other. I intend for that to be my next posting.