What does it mean to live a good life? (2nd Position)

By Estavan Egbedi

What living a good life means to me?

It’s in the little things we do, the little things we give, the kind words we say, the endearing smile we give, the little hearts we touch, the smouldering wick we help ignite, the witling flower we help flourish once again.

It’s about giving without expecting anything in return, pouring yourself all out to fill the soul of one who is broken.

I came across this story and it sunk in my heart.

An old man walked across the beach until he came across a young boy throwing something into the breaking waves. Upon closer inspection, the old man could see that the boy was tossing stranded starfish from the sandy beach, back into the ocean.

“What are you doing, young man?” He asked. “If the starfish are still on the beach when the sun rises, they will die,” the boy answered. “That is ridiculous. There are thousands of miles of beach and millions of starfish. It doesn’t matter how many you throw in; you can’t make a difference.”

“It matters to this one,” the boy said as he threw another starfish into the waves. “And it matters to this one.”

Living a good life is deriving joy and satisfaction from giving to those in need, it’s being happy from seeing others happy. Of course, there are lot of disgruntled souls out there, lots of unhappiness, lots of people who need help but can’t get it, lots of “starfish”, fix your eyes not on the quantity of “starfish” that needs help but on the “starfish” right next to you that you can help get right into the sea. Oh, how fulfilled and happy you’ll be each day when you get home knowing someone out there has been affected because of a kind deed you did.

Rendering help or giving is not merely in material things, it’s not merely giving things that are measurable, the real things that matters are in the immeasurable, and you’ll be surprised to know how small or seemingly insignificant these things are -your listening ear, words spoken at the right time, smile, compliments, appreciation etc-

Don’t get me wrong, living a good life is not trying to live a perfect life, with all the imperfections around, that would be like striving after the wind. Living a good life is turning the imperfections into something beautiful, seeing pass the flaws and mistakes of others, letting go of grudges, stopping to smell the roses, bringing out the best in others by giving out your best.

Yes, to me living a good life means a whole lot of things but more importantly, it is “helping one or more stranded starfish back into the ocean before the sun rises”.

You CAN make a difference.