The Good Life

What does a meaningful life - "the good life" look like in the 21st Century?  How does a person move from simply surviving, to thriving"?  How does one know if they are fulfilling their purpose in life, rather than just drifting along to an inevitable death?  If you ask a hundred people, you'll probably get a hundred different answers, but those answers will share many of the same themes. 

At a bare minimum, people need life's basics to survive.  One probably isn't concerned with thriving, when they are struggling just to scrape by.  We all need food, shelter, and security (this would also include medical care when needed).  When those basics are not automatic - when providing for those life essentials is a day to day struggle - it's hard to imagine a human flourishing.  

But when the basics are a given - when one's daily bread is also bread for tomorrow - then a foundation is laid from which to build a meaningful life.  When the essentials are not in question, then one is free to ask other questions.  Many in our world still don't have easy access to the bare necessities, but it seems that we are moving closer to a day when at a minimum, everyone on the planet has their essentials met.  Hopefully we will see that day in my lifetime.

But beyond this, what do we need to live a meaningful life?  What does the good life look like in the modern world?  Though different people may describe it in different ways, I think that many in our world would come up with variations on two basic themes.  First, we all need community and connection to thrive.  Second, we need a purpose to pursue.  I believe these two ideas go hand in hand.  

Let's consider what it means to be a part of a community.  At it's core, to be a part of a community, is to belong.  The family is the crucial building block of all communities.  Historically, the family has been the foundation upon which all human societies have emerged.  When a family functions at its best, it provides a safe place for a person to be loved, cherished, and appreciated, regardless of the circumstances.  Of course, there is a such thing as dis-functional families, but all of us know in our core that broken families are not ideal, and hopefully, not the norm.  

Society, of course organizes itself into many other groups and organizations.  But even those groups, to some degree operate in a similar fashion to families.  There are rules and structures that each "family" chooses to organize itself by, but in many ways, a group, team, business, club, city, or even nation, is just a non-biological (and often much larger) version of a family.  But when a person no longer belongs to a family or families, whether biological, or other, it becomes very difficult to live a meaningful life.  Without being connected to a group larger than ourselves, much of what it means to be human is lost.  

But people need to not only belong, they also need to contribute.  Part of being in community is playing a vital role in that community.  Without contributing to the greater good or the larger outcome, people typically feel either underutilized or underappreciated.  And this contribution to the greater good - whatever that might be - is essential if one is to live a purposeful life.

When our basic needs are met and when we safely and securely belong to and contribute to a community (or communities), we are in a position to live a meaningful life.  This gives us the freedom to embrace challenges, the boldness to seek out adventure, and the curiosity to explore uncharted territory.  Then we have a purpose to pursue.  These purposes will vary from person to person, but for us to live the good life - a meaningful life - we must believe the purposes we pursue are worthwhile and transcend our individual context.  In other words, it is imperative for us to believe that the things that we give our time and energy to make a difference.

This only skims the surface of what it means to live the "good life".  But, at a minimum, it's hard for me to imagine anyone living what they might describe as a meaningful life if they lack basic necessities, if they lack connection to a community, and if they find that they are being underutilized, underappreciated, or if their pursuits don't seem to make a difference to world at large (regardless of how large or small that world happens to be).  What else is essential to living a meaningful life?  What do we need to live the "good life"? - Shay