by Stephen Atkinson

Created on: May 03, 2008

The Essence Of A Good Life

Life is living, and living is life. The two intertwine as one, do they not? Whenever I think of the need to define life, I am always drawn to a comparison of something that may not at all be defined. In the Scriptures we are reminded to believe in God and the life awaiting us at the end. The life where we remain in service to the Almighty, and reap the rewards for having lived a good, and just, life on earth. That is the easy part, so many believe. Live the good life, and be rewarded with yet another eternally good life. In reality, it is but the same life lived mortally, and then eternally.

However, it is the earthly life that is most fascinating for each of us, no one excepted. With each new dawn, the belief persists that this day will be better than the day just passed. There is also good, and ample reason for thinking this way. For it is in the daily living of life that we experience both good and bad, beauty, and the not so beautiful. Daily lessons offering us the opportunities to redeem ourselves for poor choices made, and for the loss of those same opportunities through inaction. Give us our daily bread we beseech, and all the while we give not the ingredients to our life's baker. We mourn, we lament, and we wait for the coming day for a resurrection of ourselves.

Harken to the old saw about life being for the young, as if somehow life has passed us by when we reach adulthood. It is we who have passed life by, and not the reverse. We are reminded that one may begin anew, being born of good spirit, and accomplish much in the latter years of life. Though we do indeed remember this having been said to us at some point in time, it is as though we can't recall who said it, or why it was said. Life, to be enjoyed fully, requires only that a man, or woman, begin living that life in earnest at a point of revelation one clearly understands, and is motivated by.

How may we not see that which has always been there for us to see? Denial is more probably the greatest of reasons why, wouldn't you think? To deny that your life is unworthy, or not worth living at all, is to deny your very existence, and the underlying reasons for such existence.

One tiny step at a time, is what is asked of us all. Can't we simply begin?

At first, we need only take stock of our blessings, and of the people in our immediate lives whom we love. Think of the children, those who look up to you for guidance. A guidance not expressly asked for, but one sought, surely as

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