The Good Life Song
Lyrics
Chorus:
Good life
Good life
Goo-D
Lif-E
Goo-D
Lif-E
Verse:
We're goin' on to our future.
The ability to change our community.
We want the light to carry us forward.
We deserve the right to know who we are.
Chorus
Verse:
We want to solve the injustices of our world
and help strengthen each boy and girl.
The good life belongs to us all
whether you play the flute or bounce a basketball.
Chorus
Bridge
We wanna drive a space ship and go to the moon.
We wanna stare in death's face and come on through.
We wanna do more than they expect,
like reach the stars, swim the seven seas.
You'll know it's all true when you read my biography!
Chorus
This song would probably be intended for students in middle school and high school. At the end there would be opportunities and invitations to write your own improv rap about the good life.
The Happiness Hypothesis Blog: Duality and Meaning
Someone once told me that it’s not about what you’re called to, it’s about who you’re called to be with. However, the Happiness Hypothesis would go a step beyond that and say that happiness is composed of not only what you do but what’s within. Growing up, I did not try to grasp for happiness because I saw it as a temporary band-aid like cure. Using Haidt’s principle of integrating the modern truth within ancient wisdom is the most sustainable practice to how to make happiness an active component of my lifestyle. Additionally, Aristotle claimed that all persons must have a “clear target” on which to aim, so having a sense of calling and passion toward a goal is key to maintaining happiness as well.
We can help children discover the good life by interacting with them in real and honest ways. We can help them acknowledge and speak out the complexities of their lives and brainstorm pathways for overcoming barriers to their goals. Aristotle said, “ the good life is one where you develop your strengths, realize your potential and become what is in your nature to become.” We need to install in our children the capability to dream their ideas into actuality and come beside them as they work out what that looks like for them as they develop.
Spiritually , I think I have been given what Haidt called "too much wisdom." I grew up in a family that was very appearance based, with the idea of appearing to have everything perfect and together. I never quite fit into that mold so that was one of the reasons I struggled with happiness because I felt that it was a fake face that people put on to appear the way the wanted to appear. This reminds me of what Haidt said in the divided self about having multiple things going on within you and deciding which animal you will feed; your ego, superego or id. This philosophy makes me think of the Cherokee legend of two wolves , which goes like this:
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
I think that this story has to deal with not only the way we view ourselves and what part of ourselves we will allow to come to the forefront but how we allow our weaknesses and strengths to collaborate with one another and then how we show and teach others how to do the same. As we embrace the duality and complex vulnerability of our human and spiritual nature, we can begin to journey within the meaning of who we are and what we were purposed for.
References
Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. New York: Basic, 2006. Print.
"Two Wolves." Virtues for Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 June 2016.
We can help children discover the good life by interacting with them in real and honest ways. We can help them acknowledge and speak out the complexities of their lives and brainstorm pathways for overcoming barriers to their goals. Aristotle said, “ the good life is one where you develop your strengths, realize your potential and become what is in your nature to become.” We need to install in our children the capability to dream their ideas into actuality and come beside them as they work out what that looks like for them as they develop.
Spiritually , I think I have been given what Haidt called "too much wisdom." I grew up in a family that was very appearance based, with the idea of appearing to have everything perfect and together. I never quite fit into that mold so that was one of the reasons I struggled with happiness because I felt that it was a fake face that people put on to appear the way the wanted to appear. This reminds me of what Haidt said in the divided self about having multiple things going on within you and deciding which animal you will feed; your ego, superego or id. This philosophy makes me think of the Cherokee legend of two wolves , which goes like this:
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
I think that this story has to deal with not only the way we view ourselves and what part of ourselves we will allow to come to the forefront but how we allow our weaknesses and strengths to collaborate with one another and then how we show and teach others how to do the same. As we embrace the duality and complex vulnerability of our human and spiritual nature, we can begin to journey within the meaning of who we are and what we were purposed for.
References
Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. New York: Basic, 2006. Print.
"Two Wolves." Virtues for Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 June 2016.