Today’s questions are …
What does it mean to live a good life?
To me, living a good life means being kind to people. To be satisfied with my life choices and if I’m not satisfied, then changing things in my life to MAKE it satisfying. Living a good life means being comfortable in my skin. To finally be happy with who and what I am. And to also be satisfied with my physical appearance. We are all uniquely different and that makes us uniquely special. It takes a long time to acknowledge and accept that fact and sadly, some people never accept that, but once you have made peace with yourself, it’s easier to make peace with other people. Living a good life means being patient and empathetic to others. Everyone has their own problems, their own history, which in turn shapes who they are as people. Recognizing and accepting that goes a long way to understanding, and tolerating, people around you. Living a good life means having faith in something bigger than yourself. To have hope. To have dreams. To accomplish goals. To HAVE goals. Living a good life is working hard, saving most of what you make and spending wisely leaving plenty left over to enjoy in your twilight years. Living a good life means being responsible for one’s actions, to thinking before acting. Living a good life means searching for, and finding, YOUR happiness, however that looks for you personally.
Why do we dream?
My explanation is: it’s your subconscious trying to get your attention. However, a better explanation comes from Psychology Today:
- A component and form of memory processing, aiding in the consolidation of learning and short-term memory to long-term memory storage.
- An extension of waking consciousness, reflecting the experiences of waking life.
- A means by which the mind works through difficult, complicated, unsettling thoughts, emotions, and experiences, to achieve psychological and emotional balance.
- The brain responding to biochemical changes and electrical impulses that occur during sleep.
- A form of consciousness that unites past, present and future in processing information from the first two, and preparing for the third.
- A protective act by the brain to prepare itself to face threats, dangers, and challenges
I know it’s fun to discuss, and try to interpret, Kevin’s dreams. He has some doozies. ha!
Where does your self-worth come from?
Most likely from your family. Your parents are an integral part of shaping who you are. If your family doesn’t have good morals, compassion, empathy, kindness and ethics, chances are, you won’t either. Hence the reason the nuclear family is SO IMPORTANT. I think surrounding one’s self with positive and uplifting people feeds a healthy self-worth. Unfortunately, many people do not recognize toxic people until their self-worth has been chipped away to virtually nothing. If do not feel good after spending time with someone, then it’s time to cut that person out of your life and move on to people who motivate and offer honest, positive feedback. It’s also important to recognize one’s own flaws and to actively work on correcting those flaws. Why are you impatient? Why do you lose your temper so easily? Why does it matter to you so much that someone like you? Why do you need praise? Why are you a perfectionist? Once you have those honest conversations with yourself, then you are in a better place to be honest to those around you.
Here is an excellent comment on a thread about self-worth:
“Self-worth is something that you can never derive from external surroundings, it is something you derive from within. It does not have any measuring scale. It is a position which one holds for oneself. Self-worth is an internal state of being that comes from self-understanding, self-love, and self-acceptance. Self-worth is steady and unflinching, and therefore, holds power to radically transform your life for the better.
Having a high degree of self-worth means feeling worthy of good things. It means feeling deserving of happiness, health, wealth, success, and love — irrespective of the difficulties you face, the disappointments you experience, or of people’s opinions.”
Write From Karen 