A Good Life......

What do I call a good life?

How can I live a good life?

How can I create the conditions in my life so that I can live a good life?

What is it in contemporary society or culture that helps me live a good life?

What in society today that makes it hard to live a good life?

What principles do I hold about the good life, or what standards do I use to judge whether or not someone is living a good life?    

What I call a good life has and I suppose always be subjective to the period of my life that I am in. When I was 16, a good life consisted of different priorities for me than it does now. At 16 my definition of a good life was having the biggest most expensive jewelry, the “fanciest” flashiest clothes, and the prettiest girls, all while having so much respect from my peers that no one would dare to ever try and take any of these things from me. So I guess back then it could be said that a good life to me was having prestige, I wanted to be looked up to.  I was competitive; I wanted to be the best always and at everything. In a way, it could be said that this is the foundation of what I still consider a good life. However, as I got older and my priorities changed.

       Now at 27 years old my definition of a good life now has grown to include my family and my career. I still am very competitive so to me a good life would include a career that was intellectually stimulating career that is fulfilling monetarily as well as spiritually. I would need the financial means to retire my mother and afford my future children the best education and living circumstances. A good life would include my wife working not because she has to in order for us to make ends meet but rather because she loves what she does for a living. I would want my family and close friends to want for nothing. This is all closely rather to the amount of wealth it would require to provide this lifestyle to my loved ones.

       A good life however, to me also needs to include emotional fulfillment which I currently feel that I have. Sometimes I fear that the pursuit of the material wealth I will somehow change and lose my loved ones. That being said, if gaining material wealth means losing the emotional support of my wife, family or friends I would gladly remain in my current financial circumstances forever. I am genuinely happy in life and I feel as though I am missing nothing the material wealth I pursue is for the sole purpose of the prestige it brings and the lifestyle it affords me, but my priorities are in order my loved ones come first before the pursuit of fortune and admiration.

       I can live a good life by providing my family with the best. I can live a good life by planning for unexpected delays and by adapting my definition of a good life as my circumstances change. I can also achieve a good life by maintaining my support system of family and friends how have helped me achieve the level of success I currently have.

        Contemporary society provides me with a number of conveniences that help me a great deal in living a good life. The Internet and social networking allow for me to remain in contact with people whom I would have otherwise never spoken to again. The Internet also provides me with countless information on any subject that I would have otherwise taken a great deal of time to get. The culture of society helps me towards a good life because much of it is geared towards providing the opportunity to become a success in terms of education and values.

         As in any situation there is the opposite side of the coin there are things in society that makes it difficult to live a good life. In society there is underlying racism and preconceived notions of who I am based on being a Latino male from a low-income neighborhood. That in and of itself makes it difficult to achieve any type of significant success or wealth in pursuit of a good life. Coming from a low-income family I also am put at a disadvantage. Low income neighborhood are plagued by the worse schools with classrooms with only two students in a classroom of 30-something students, the gifted student and the problem child with all other students lost in the shuffle. Growing up with without money leaves you with twisted priorities of what's important and many give themselves into a life of crime. When you grow up in a disadvantaged atmosphere you have to learn quickly that you have to fight, run, and claw for the basics that are a given for those in a higher tax bracket. 

         There are several standards that I use to judge if someone is living a good life. One standard is at the most basic is if the person is happy and fulfilled with their lives. Secondly, I most definitely think that the amount of work they put into improving the lives of others on any scale is also a good determination of a good life. At some point you don't need any extra and all that is left is the opportunity to help others succeed or provide them with the opportunity to do so. A good life has to include making others happy and therefore becoming a good person. That is the standard by which I would ultimately judge a good life.