How Do You Live A Good Life?
“There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by.A life of good days lived in the senses is not enough. The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more.The life of the spirit requires less and less; time is ample and its passage sweet.” Annie Dillard
I'm a good day junky.
Most of the time, that means doing something new, experiencing something exciting. It means getting more of what I want and less of what I don't.
I am far too concerned with sensation which, as Annie Dillard says above, is really a life of greed, requiring more and more.
More getting, less giving.More running, less resting.More adrenalin, less boredom.
This truth came rushing home yesterday as I pitched my kids on Monday activities.
"It's the week before school starts, so let's have adventures!!"
I started to list options and after hearing me out, their response wasn't what I expected.
"Can we just hang out together and maybe go to the Y?"
They aren't looking for more doing. They simply want more being.
This, to me, seems to be a life of the spirit. This is the path of a good life which requires less and less; where time is ample and its passage sweet.
I'm going to follow their lead.