The Good Life.

Everyone wants it. Few claim to own it. Fewer still actually do. But what’s the overarching consensus when confronted with existential q & a? Does the good life really exist? Can there ever be a straightforward answer?

‘The truth is rarely pure and never simple.’

-Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde was a 19th Century Irish poet and playwright. He was a strong advocate for the Aesthetics Movement — an initiative based on observing reality at face value, as opposed to reading between the lines in search of profundity. In short, appreciating ‘art for arts sake’. You would think that prioritizing the beauty of life — practically putting it on a pedestal — would unequivocally render that life ‘good’. You would also think that Wilde — having assumed this stance for many years- would be loving all and living large.

Alas, this was not the case. Well, maybe the first one.

Wilde’s self-imposed paradise imploded around him. He was no longer content in his marriage. The man was not heterosexual — a criminal offence under Queen Victoria. Wilde had an affair with the son of the Marquess of Queensberry, precipitating a court case culminating in his incarceration and inexorable fall from grace. Upon release he fell terminally ill and died of meningitis. 46 years old and leaving the world how he’d entered it. Alone and fragile.

Suffice it to say, beauty for the sake of beauty was apparently not the answer. So then, what is? To answer that, we must delve into the crux of the matter.

Where do you even start?

Initially, being intensely aware of our own actions and how they tip the universal scales of morality will offer ample foundation upon which to build an ideal life. But even this goal becomes a problem when the concept of moral truth remains so ambiguous. Some say live your life with virtue, others advise against seeking material gain. A Vermeer can place anywhere on the spectrum of priceless to worthless. It depends on who you ask to make a bid.

Ultimately, the good life is truly all about the artist’s perspective. There has long been a ludicrous degree of bias toward philosophical buzzwords such as aesthetics, deontology or utilitarianism. But happiness itself has no real prerequisites. Prioritising theoretical knowledge over empirical application does little more than offer precarious grounds for esoteric dialogue. In simpler words, being an expert on how something should work doesn’t mean we can automatically make it happen. Submitting a PhD thesis on how Roger Federer swings his racquet won’t give us 8 Wimbledon titles.

Attempting to conduct a research project on ‘Why We Smile’ will most definitely give you all the more reason to frown.

So, throw all of your previous theories out of the window, and sit the hell up. It’s time to start sampling.

Sampling equals experience.

Experience. Experience. Experience. Pay attention to the experiences of others, but never let external pressures constrict your own thoughts. If we spend all our time listening and acting upon what other people want for us, not only do we struggle to find our voice but we may become confused as to whether we even had one in the first place. Doing exactly what it takes to gain the approval of people — especially our friends and loved ones — can seem like a no-brainer. But at the end of the day, there is only one person who is made to reflect over their every breath, only to see so many wasted. People talk about fulfilling dreams. A dream job, dream car, dream house, dream partner. Sorry, but whose dreams again?

We are all fragments of a bigger idea. The human condition is made up of individual brushstrokes. No two moments will ever be same — no two strokes are identical. Some are a little thin, some are much too thick. Some are reasonably straight while others spiral off the canvas. Our flaws make us whole. Now, dear soul searchers, breathe in. Breathe all of it in. All that is offered to the soul — and more. All I ask is you never put the brush down.

If the Good Life is what you truly desire, don’t place all your faith into some distorted, faraway image of what joy looks like. Instead, put everything into each dab of paint. There’s no sense in chasing rainbows when you can shape your own. If we focus on devoting our time and energy into making today ‘good’, it lays the quintessential bedrock for a better tomorrow.

The artwork is everything. It’s the kind that depicts who we were, are, and aspire to be.

Here’s to creating a beautiful self-portrait.