Life

So very often Life is difficult, life is unfair, life is challenging and sometimes painful. There are frustrations, tragedies, disappointments, setbacks, heartbreaks, and absurdities.

BUT when you really weight the balance it will show that the majority of the time life is so very good. Take a minute, turn off the tube, the phone and just listen to the silence, in that moment you can realize the simple joy of just being, which  outweighs them all.

 Life is good, because within its realm, anything is possible. Life is good, because no matter how far you fall, there is always a way to climb back up again. It’s uniquely good for you in your very own way. The possibilities for expressing your purpose are limited only by your imagination.

 You can complain, fret and worry about all the problems in your life, but you’ll be wasting your time. Or, you can choose to focus on why and how life is so good, and on what you can do to take that goodness and make it even better. Life is good, and in this moment that’s bursting with possibilities, life is yours

So I pose the question, the question “What makes life worth living?” 

I think there’s a resistance to answering a question like this honestly but it strikes me as a really important question. What does make life worth living?

family, friends, work, etc. ?  these answers aren’t necessarily trivial, they strike me as very unsatisfying answers to the question .  Why are so many  people – who have families, friends, and jobs – so unhappy? Why, indeed, do we live in a society where anti-depressants are among the most profitable medications?

Instead, I think we need to address the question with our own actions, the things we do that make life worth living. Verbs, not nouns. When I think of how I would answer the question, the following behaviors come to mind:

It’s not “family” that makes life worth living, I think, but the relationships we create with members of our family, and the way we maintain and build those relationships. Same goes for friends, lovers, business partners, students, and everyone else.

Creating: Writing, drawing, painting (though I’m not good at it), playing music (though I’m not especially good at that, either). 

Helping: Being able to lend a hand to people in need – however drastic or trivial that need may be – strikes me as an important part of life.

Playing: Maybe this is a kind of “relating”, but then, play can be a solo affair as well. Letting go of restraints, imagining new possibilities, testing yourself against others or against yourself, finding humor and joy.

Growing: Learning new things, improving my knowledge and ability in the things I’ve already learned.

Those seem like more satisfying answers to me – they strike deeper into what it is I want for myself, what makes it worthwhile to get up in the morning. What about you? What makes your life worth living?

Answer the question for yourself and you may find  God has a way of blessing us when we least expect it. What makes life worth living?