How to live
Big headline, right?
The point of life is learning how to live well. Some people have the knack for it.
The first step in learning how to live is seeking out the people who are doing it right; they’re healthy, happy, balanced and successful.
Surround yourself with them. Learn from them.
Life is a huge thing with exponential variables. No one can tell you how to deal with your experience of it but there are some people who seem to have worked it out. Here’s what I’ve noticed about them:
- They drink wine
- They laugh
- They laugh at themselves
- They care deeply about other people
- They are optimistic
- They exercise
- They eat well. It’s as though they are eating life and this process makes them bigger and better and stronger.
- They share
- They spend lots of time with family and friends
- They have pets
- They appreciate and actively seek out beauty
- They are kind in their appraisal of others
- They are polite
- They are financially stable but not necessarily rich
- They are healthy
- They are inclusive
- They are curious and adventurous
- They spend time outdoors – at the beach, in the garden, in the park
- They have a hobby or an interest that they are genuinely passionate about
- They understand themselves and make choices that are true to who they are
Alain de Botton has created a thing called The School of Life that aims to teach people how to live better. Now that I am interested in.
What have you learnt about living? I know that I need eight hours sleep or the world is like quicksand. What’s your thing?
I have some other suggestions too!
They have the never-ending thought that everything is going to be ok
They are not jealous of other people and their success.
They are happy with what they have, or at least happy with the progress they are making to get to where they want to be.
They are pragmatic.
I’ve noticed that they also have friends who are ‘elders’ – either the elderly or much older and wiser. Elders help give us perspective when the chips are down.