I read this Margaret Killjoy article about the “punk rock good life” recently, and have been thinking a lot about what I want from life.
What makes a “good life” for you?
My knee-jerk reaction would be “if you’re happy”, but I had an epiphany a while back:
I was chitchatting with a coworker over way too many beers and he asked me something along the lines of “were you happy growing up (insert background here)”, and after weighing my words I responded that “I would’ve been, except I’m generally not a very happy person”.So am I satisfied with my life? Yes.
Do I have worries? Yes, like anyone else on this planet. Mine are pretty minor and not debilitating.
Do I consider myself happy now? See above.But yet, I’d conclude that I’m living a good life, even if I’m generally a grumpy guy.
I’m generally happy usually, financially stable, eat okay, cut out the shitty people in my life, exercise regularly, speak to a therapist twice a month, take a couple medications and regularly help in my local community. The former one completely because of the latter 7.
Take only photos, leave only footprints.
Leave the world a better place than you found it.
Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
It aint hard ✌️
Edit: also, try not to violate the weekend saftey brief.
A good life is something that you notice rather than decide. You probably have to go through hardship to acually appreciate when life is good.
I used to say my goal is to live hard and die young. I’m not so nihilistic anymore, but I’d still say I’m living a good life if I’m pushing myself to my limits to have fun and experience new things.
I try (everything is progress towards a known unreachable ideal character) to live a righteous life while believing in God and the Day of Judgment with excitement, not fear (whilst still keeping in mind my share of this world). In Kierkegaard’s terms: I’ve left the aesthetic stage, walked through the ethical stage and I leapt into the religious stage, and God caught me. Once you do that, I’ve found that the rest comes by itself, and your fulfilment is mostly guaranteed (this is still just my personal experience though).
Kierkegaard and Fred Clark have almost got me as far as Christianity. The infinite movement/the jump does seem like it could be the answer sometimes.
I think about what all of my grandparents would think of my life, the children I raised, the way I raised them, the good works I have done and continue to do. Is it a perfect life, hell no, of course not, but I think overall that I’ve lived a moral life.
I saw my grandma a few weeks ago and gave her a small embroidery project. It felt a little silly and childish but she taught me to sew, and I guess I wanted her to see that it’s something I’ve kept up with.
I’m probably not going to have kids, which I really hate, but I’ve taught lots of kids to sew, so maybe that’s close to this.
It all depends on what your values are. Some prioritize career, others prioritize recreation. Some value travel. Some value family. Some value education. Some value good morals and helping others.
I’ve emphasized the last one more than everything else, and it’s only ended up hurting me. Feels like I would be happier if I could feel “good” working a 9-5 that didn’t help anyone. Teaching is the kind of thing that slowly kills you.




