What is a good life?

What is a good life? A good life is a life filled with joy. A few months ago, the University of Florida admission essay topic was to describe the good life. I responded with “To me, living the good life means being successful.” Now that I really think about this response and scrutinize it, I realize that just because someone is successful, doesn’t mean they are happy. Dictionary.com defines success as “the accomplishment of one’s goal” and “the attainment of death, position, honors, or the like.” When you look further into this response you begin to question the reasons of accomplishing the goal. If success does not make happiness, then is it really the good life?

The Dalai Lama’s belief on what the meaning of life is has redefined my notion of a good life. He states “The meaning of life is happiness.” Despite this classic statement, the Dalai Lama was able to make a point and change my response. Not only is this response simple but it is also logical. Doing what makes you happy gives you the freedom to do whatever you feel the urge to do. This does not limit you to only doing what it takes to achieve your goal. Your ability to be happy becomes an extremely broad range. Happiness is found in many places but I do not believe that living the good life means being happy.

In contrast, people who are willing to mistakenly suggest that success is what fills them with happiness, are being deceived. Living a good life does not mean being happy. Present day culture portrays being happy and having joy as interchangeable terms. People fail to realize they happiness is only temporary. Joy, according to Christianity, is a lengthy feeling of euphoria. I believe that living the good life is living joy filled life. According to Christian belief, the fruit of the Spirit is joy. Leszek Kolakowski states “the true God of the Christians, Jesus Christ, was not happy in any recognizable sense.” This does not necessarily rule out joy. Furthermore, the Bible constantly gives examples of Christians feeling joy. This joy seems to offer more pleasure than being happy. Jesus was able to prove that joy lasts through the tough times because it is not the same as happiness.

This being said, my notion of a good life is not happiness. There will be times when age, suffering, and death cause me to not be happy. There are innumerable reasons to not be happy. Being happy while being conscious of the poverty, struggles, and problem of this world is naive. There is no reason that people should not strive for a good life. A good life is life filled with joy.