The Good Life

"Oh, the good life, full of fun seems to be the ideal, Hmm, the good life, lets you hide all the sadness you feel...It's a good life to be free and explore the unknown, Like your heartaches, when you learn you must face them alone..."



Tony Bennett is one of my tatay's favorite balladeers. After Frank Sinatra, Steve Lawrence, Nat king Cole, Jack Jones, Matt Monroe, Engelbert Humperdinck, Andy Williams, Tony Bennett has a special place in my music library. My tatay swooned everytime he played his "Cold, Cold Heart" and "Oh, The Good Life".

While enjoying my off today doing my routine household chores, I suddenly had an urge to play "Oh, the good life" by Tony Bennett on my CD player. While listening, I got to thinking, what really is the "good life"?

Each of us has a different view of the good life. Some consider it a good life when they have attained all the material things in life that they have worked hard for; beautiful house, fancy cars, fat bank accounts. Some think having paid all their bills and being able to take their families on cruises to Bahamas, the Carribbean, to Hawaii, to Alaska...constitute the good life.

The young ones deemed it a good life when they meet the boy or girl of their dreams and finally marrying him or her and spending the rest of their lives together like the one am thinking i guess. Those in business would like to think that they are living a good life when their business is blooming, they can attend big parties and no creditors to haunt them. Some especially the senior citizens say they are having a good life if they can go to casinos and play bingo or on the slot machines like what my deceased parents always did...then. Oh, my parents loved to go to casinos playing on a medium no limit basis. They can round up all 21 tables for poker alone in the cardroom. They loved playing Blackjack and Pai Gow Poker at Lucky Chances. They loved being there since the place has a free shuttle bus to the BART station. And from the BART station they just leave their car on the park fronting the BART station. One time arriving from Colma, my nanay nagged at my tatay saying "apay ya naglastog ka? You always overtip the poker dealers for doing simple brainless jobs...blah, blah, blah!!! Don't you know that they have the worst chip runners in the world...blah, blah, blah!!!" In which my tatay will just smile at her then will gonna say, "ingka maturogen". There's this one time i called on their cel and told them..."tumira na kaya kayo jan!" since the casino has a 24-hour gaming and fine dining and entertainment as well since lots of pinoy artists had performed there already, the likes of Regine, Kuh, Pops, Zsa Zsa, Jessa and Dingdong, Martin. As always i got a "tawkininam" reply. That's what they loved doing...going together to casino...being always together with their amigos/amigas whom they enjoy to be with at the said casino...that, can be attributed as a good life to them. Having to live not necessarily a luxurious life but comfortable enough to spend fun times together.

Some of my friends says that, to them, a good life means good health, caring family, faithful friends. We think we are having a good life when we are healthy, if we can spend quality time with our families and we have faithful friends who we can count on in good times or bad ones. Also when we can go to church every Sunday to fulfill our Christian obligations. It's a good life when you don't feel any aches and pains, which are part of our lives i guess.

My co-worker's vision on the good life is having a lot of friends, good relationship within the families (aray!!!), seeing their children living successful lives, moving around freely without hesitation, enough money to cover their day to day expenses.

Our co-couples for christ friend told me, having a good life means having time for the Lord and being able to obey all His commandments.

Oprah Gail Winfrey has written on her book O's Big Book of Happiness "I want to believe that living a successful life is when you are able to help people in every way possible. I am involved in the talk show / radio show business, in investments, in magazines and books which were all successful, i had established my lifelong dream which is the Oprah Winfrey Foundation and Oprah's Angel Network, these i consider a life worth living. When i see my children doing their best to find a place in the sun by studying hard and putting extra effort to finish their studies. I think that the most important thing in life is to feel that you have a purpose. For some people it's work,for others it's family, for others it's God. It really can be anything, as long as it's a cause bigger than yourself. With a purpose, we have something to celebrate about life and something to keep us going during the down times. One must have a purpose in life in order to have a good life. We must have a mission here on Earth. God must have a reason why He placed each of us here. we must find that reason. We do not live for ourselves alone. We are connected to our fellowmen. We must not be complacent." What a quote from Oprah! But i agree with her totally.

Many people think that a good life and related to it, success, can be measured in money, fame and abundance of possessions. These things are really worth having, but are they guaranteed to bring us happiness that we all long for? If these material things can bring happiness, why are there people who possess riches, fame and glory still commit suicide?

According to Dr. Deepak Chopra, the famous self-improvement guru and author of countless books on the success of life which happens to be my husband's favorite author... "material things on Earth certainly plays a great role an individual feels successful, but such things are no guarantee of success and happiness and a life worth living. The success we want for our children to achieve has to be defined in many non-material things as well. It should include the ability to love and have compassion, the capacity to feel joy and spread it to others, the security of knowing that one's life serves a purpose and finally a sense of connection to the creative power of the universe." Wow! Again what a quote!

The good life then doesn't consist in just having all the things we want here on Earth. We all want a life of ease, we all dream of riches, happiness and prosperity. But how can we enjoy all these blessings when most people around us we see so much suffering? I know we are powerless to change the cruel world. But we can do something in our little corner of our world. We cannot all be a saint. But we can live a good life if in our own little way we do something to help our fellow beings who need kind-hearted people. Share our blessings with the less fortunates, comfort the lonely and whoever needs it, visit the sick even you hadn't known them, do some volunteer works in the community. Show a little kindness to anyone within our reach. Simply by smiling to our fellow being, giving a kind word, lending an ear to some friends who are experiencing having a personal problem or during their trying times. There are lots of ways and means how to give whether in the form of service, monetary or just a plain simple touch to lives of the people in our sorroundings. After all, that's what He wants us to do, to love one another as we are all children of God.

For me, the good life is having my husband no matter how many flaws and imperfections i do have...still managed to love me unconditionally. Having a daughter no matter how many times we have fought each other over some sensitive matters...malaki ka na ngang pala talaga...hindi na kita kayang kontrolin minsan anak. Pero anak, kahit kelan hindi ka naitsapwera sa buhay ng nanay. What we've been through when i brought you in this world cannot be measured by any means of material possessions. Your coming into my world became an immesurable significant event in my life. The happiness you brought onto my world became larger than life itself. I hope conflicts will somehow turn into blessings when you found out everything in the proper time, in the proper place. Another good life...having a real Buddy for the past eight years. You're getting old Buddy, I hope you're still able to play when baby Jared comes out like what you did when Xandra was barely four years old. Having a mother and a father like my parents...isang ilocano, isang bisaya. What a great tandem! Having a simple way of life by being everyday with my husband, my daughter, my Buddy...I consider that a good life indeed. Having a baby or much better if i can still give my husband more children in the future...i am very much willing Babe...pero sana makisama din ang katawan ko sana. Giving you kids is one way of proving to you how much I love you.

My life isn't perfect...it has lots of flaws actually...so many problems keep on coming one after the other. Anyways, who's life is perfect? But having a husband like you Babe, bearing your child, having a daughter, having a Buddy...you all constitutes to a good life...because you all makes my life complete.






one reason that makes my life complete...the good life indeed