The Examined Life

"When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better."

- Mae West

 



The philosopher Socrates is credited with saying, “An unexamined life is not worth living.”  A statement which in itself deserves to be examined.

In order to examine anything we need to first ask ourselves what we are looking for.  Is this to be a trip down memory lane, revisiting those moments and places that had an impact on who we are?  Or is this to be a session of honest, soul searching, self-examination?

Yes. 

When Socrates uttered those words he was concerned with living a virtuous life.  He recognized that no one can truly live a life of virtue without frequent and regular self assessment. 

Being a good person is like walking a straight line in more ways than one.  You can't start walking a straight line, close your eyes, and expect to continue to walk in a straight line, it's just not possible.  In order to keep to that straight and narrow it takes constant feed back.  You need to keep looking around, and making adjustments as needed.

The other thing we need to ask ourselves, and this may seem too obvious, but what does it mean to live a virtuous life?

To some people it means following the 10 commandments.  There are those who believe showing up in church once a week is sufficient to be a virtuous person in God's eyes.  As Amy in 'The Big Bang Theory' proclaims, "I don't object to the concept of a deity, but I'm baffled by the notion of one that takes attendance."

Is there a simple test that one can apply that says "this is moral" and "this is immoral?"

This is not a question I can answer for anyone but myself.  I do believe that most if not all religions say the same things about what is moral, that anyone living a virtuous life would have a life in agreement with all religions.  But is ethical or moral behavior necessarily synonymous with righteous behavior? 

So what about my life?  Has my life been a virtuous life?  Is my past full of just and upright actions?  Or is my personal history one that is tainted with personal failings?

Have I always lived a virtuous life? Of course not.  Yet I think I can safely say that I never tried to intentionally hurt other people.  In my heart I have tried to do the right thing.  If I can be faulted for anything it's not trying hard enough to learn what the right thing was.

Live and learn.  Can  I honestly say I'm a better person today then I was yesterday?  Yes, I think I can.  I'm not always the best I can be, but I do try.  And hopefully tomorrow I can try harder and do better. 

If I do, it will only happen by honestly looking at my life today.  It can only come about by an honest examination of my beliefs as well as my actions.

Have I lived a totally virtuous, or moral, life?  Who has?  If everyone lived a perfectly moral and ethical life there would be no religion, there would be no need for laws, there would be no Weight Watchers.  Think about it.

Here is the thing.  Can you honestly say you take the time to look at your life, think about your actions, think about how you treat your fellow man and woman?  Living a virtuous life really comes down to how you treat others around you, human and otherwise.  Do you honestly try to be a better person tomorrow than you were yesterday?

Then you have a life worth living.