I Have Lived A Good Life – Must Hike Must Eat

I’ve been thinking about this sentence a lot lately. Or rather, it popped into my head last week and I can’t stop thinking about it. If I died today, did I live a good life? What exactly would I be leaving behind?

When someone dies, we often will say, “She had a good life.” Maybe, “He lived a good life.”

When someone dies we often will say, “She had a good life.”

What would people say about me and my life?

Now, I don’t want to come across as morbid or pessimistic. But I have been spending quite a bit of time thinking about what I do and don’t want to leave behind.

Naturally this has me doing some decluttering. I really don’t want anyone I love to have to sort through the old high school letters I had in a tote in the shed or wonder why I still had some of the holey underwear in the drawer in the closet (don’t worry, they’ve now been Marie Kondo’d).

And any smart person has put into place all the information needed by a loved one to find all those passwords to insurance policies and bank accounts (still on the to-do list).

But more important are the non-physical things:

Did I mean something to someone?

Did I make the world a better place?

Did I get the most of this one life here on Earth we are given?

Am I investing in the right things?

I have to stop myself and think about those little things that have made life worth living. Things that make my hard work have meaning.

The email from someone who found this blog and recipes that help her realize that her special diet is not going to limit her from getting outdoors.

My son telling me that someone told him, “someone must have raised you right” when he told them he was working two jobs so he could afford to not live with his mom.

Running into parents of students I had 15 years ago who tell me all the wonderful things their child is doing now.

Oh but wait, I haven’t finished hiking the PCT yet or written that book.

You don’t have to spend long on social media to realize all the things you haven’t done yet. Things that might make up a “good life”. Especially when there are quite a few people out there making money or gaining followers for doing crazy, bold and unrealistic things. All the things that people seem to idolize and hold up as meaningful and a good use of that one life you get.

Wait. I didn’t have a drone record my engagement on a mountain top. My hike was not a triple, triple crown. I wasn’t the first to do this or that thing. I missed hiking to that perfect larchy spot. I’m not keeping up with the hiking Jones’. The list goes on and on.

I have been struggling lately with what I have been chasing. Lately, it has felt like I have been striving for something that doesn’t match who I really am. Or more precise, all of who I am. I guess a pandemic and civil unrest will do that to you.

I guess a pandemic and civil unrest will do that to you.

I feel like I have strayed a little off course. And it has me asking the question, “Am I living the life I want to live?” Am I living a good life? A life with purpose? Have I been the person I want to be?

I can’t tell you what your own personal “good” things are. Only you get to decide. And they most definitely should not be based on what you see on Facebook or Instagram.

Good things come from the soul. Good things come from connecting with true family and friends. Good things come from serving others and seeing them live the life they strive for. Maybe you have other things important to you that are “good”.

Don’t let the latest trend or chasing popularity influence your good life. Don’t be distracted by likes and comments. Do not let the world define you or the life you are supposed to have. Sure, likes and comments feel good in the moment. But they won’t leave behind a good life.

And most importantly, don’t wait until someone else has to say, “She had a good life,” for you.

And most importantly, don’t wait until someone else has to say, “She had a good life,” for you.

Tell yourself this every day.

“I have a good life.”

“I have lived a good life.”

Be proud of all you have accomplished, especially the moments that really matter.

And if for whatever reason it doesn’t seem to ring true for you yet, you still have time. And I don’t mean climb Mount Everest or cure cancer.

I mean live out your principles, take care of someone other than yourself and make the most of every day. Even if that means doing nothing but stopping to smell the roses or bask in the glow of one more sunset.

Be thankful for the life you do have, no matter what it looks like.

Happy New Year’s everyone and here’s to a new year of the good stuff.

Thank you so much for stopping by Must Hike Must Eat!

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