Whose Idea of a Good Life?
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." — Ralph Waldo Emerson Have you ever felt as though there was a right way to enjoy life? I have. Not because anyone explicitly told me so, but because it's a message we absorb without even realising it. Somewhere along the way, we've built a picture of what a "good life" is supposed to look like. It's the person who's always making plans, always out with friends, always surrounded by people. The fuller your social calendar appears, the more people assume you're enjoying life. A while ago, I overheard someone say, "At least I have a better social life than her." It wasn't the comment itself that stayed with me. It was the assumption behind it. We often speak as though having a "better social life" is an objective fact rather than something that depends entirely on what brings someone happiness. We rarely stop to a...