The Good Life

Everyone seems to dream of living "the good life".  But what does that mean?  I think for each of us, it's something different, but there are still basics that can cover the topic.  When you Google "what is the good life", this appeared:  "Living the good life means living a life that sets you free.  A life that satisfies and fulfills you, that adds happiness, joy and a sense of purpose to your life.  But it also means to live a life that is worthwhile - a life that makes a contribution, instead of being solely elf-centered."

I think the challenge with this is finding out how to do this, in a way that we can make it happen.  I've read of folks who give up their fancy home and move to some place in the country.  They change their eating habits, giving up things that are bad for them --  sugar, processed foods -- and plant gardens to raise their own food.   I'm not sure I'm ready to go to those extremes, but I located a list of things that if we try to follow them, our lives might improve. 

• Do the best you can, whatever arises
• Be at peace with yourself
• Find a job you enjoy
• Life in simple conditions; housing, food, clothing; get rid of clutter
• Contact nature every day; feel the Earth under your feet
• Take physical exercise through hard work; through gardening or walking
• Don't worry; live one day at a time
• Share something every day with someone else.  If you live alone, write someone; give something away; help someone somehow
• Take time to wonder at life and the world, see some humor in life where you can
• Be kind to the creatures

I think if all of us tried to live by these "rules", the world may be a better place. We will definitely be a lot happier - and isn't that how we live The Good Life???

Dreams and Expectations

Personal happiness hinges on a practicality:  if your reality lives up to your expectations, you're happy  If it doesn't, you're depressed.  Do you find that entirely true?  I've been contemplating this today, wondering about the balance of personal happiness in our lives.  

Dreams and expectations are two very different things.  Dreams call for a leap of faith, trusting that there's a net so we can recreate our world with our energy, soul gifts and visions.  Expectations are the emotional investment the ego makes in a particular outcome, such as winning an Oscar.

So what's the fine line here between dreams and expectations?   When you pursue your dream, you become passionate and feel the energy pulse as you work toward your goal.  However, expectations try to measure the pursuit, the path, of the dream in steps or milestones.  Should we be measuring our happiness based on that?  I don't know about you, but it seems like my personal make-up tends to get caught up in the delivery details -- or rather, the accomplishments.   I'm not sure I can unlearn this and separate these any longer. 

That doesn't mean I don't have personal happiness.  But I'm sure that what I consider happy isn't for everyone!  But it also doesn't mean that I can't explore different ways of looking at life and even if I can't make a huge change, I can make small adjustments in my thinking, I can lower my expectations in some circumstances so that I'm not always worried about the personal happiness factor.  Choose to be surprised by joy!  

Oprah Winfrey once said that God's dreams for her were much more than she could ever have dreamed for herself.  And maybe some day soon, I'll pursue another new set of dreams!