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What Makes Good Life?

Satisfactory Essays

“Good” is a broad term that can be interpreted in a variety of ways by each individual. By definition, it is a lack of self-centeredness. It means the ability to empathize with other people, to feel compassion for them, and to put their needs before your own. It means, if necessary, sacrificing your own well-being for the sake of others’. It means benevolence, altruism and selflessness, and self-sacrifice towards a greater cause. It means being able to see beyond the superficial difference of race, gender, or nationality and relate to a common human essence beneath them. All these qualities appear to stem from a sense of empathy. When one is asked to define what is “good”, and what the “good life” is, the answers can reveal something seeded in their own personal beliefs, experiences, and culture. This can offer a small window to peek in to view their ethics and help us understand how someone’s opinions of good in their life and around them help them conduct themselves.
I spoke with my mother-in-law, Cheryl for the dialogue of her views on good. Cheryl is the mother of 4 adult children, and although she has lived a majority of her life estranged from religion, found solace in Christianity as an adult and uses every moment in life as an opportunity to find God’s blessings or messages for direction and guidance. I grew up fairly atheist and didn 't attend a formal church service until after I married her eldest son. I utilized this interview opportunity to get an understanding

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