The Good Life

History has always been one of my favorite subjects to learn and talk about since a young age. Furthermore, I have also always been a thoughtful, artistic, and curious individual. With these qualities in mind, I believe that my occupation would be a blend of a philosopher, author, and historian.

The time period that speaks to me most is the golden age of Greek philosophy. Being around the likes of Socrates and Plato during their lime-light would have been amazing to me. This was in the B.C. world, when much of our knowledge of why and how humans think the way we do became challenged by various schools of thought. Thinking of our thoughts and thoughts about our thinking are activities that go hand-in-hand of course.

I am a man of many different interests, or “a jack of all trades” as some of my contemporaries would say. Waking early and having a medium-sized breakfast consisting of fish and bread with some to water wash it down. Next on the itinerary would be the morning workout to get it out of the way. More than likely lifting heavy things and putting them back down consistently. Taking a post-workout plunge into cold water would have been ideal since Athens, my choice of province to reside in, stays pretty warm throughout the year.

I love teaching people things that may interest them or enhance their minds, because I believe that knowledge is power. I would be instructing an afternoon class that was a combination of the arts, history, and philosophy. Open forums and discussions by attendees are always welcome for in-depth feedback, which also keeps things from getting stale. It's always best to have some organic dialogue so that not everything is just a cold lecture.

After the learning sessions, we all feast and banter, as if it's a celebration of knowledge and understanding. An attendee named Alexander tells various jokes in front of his peers about a cat that keeps stealing his wife's pies. He knows which one it is, because the cat has grown big enough to have its own zip code. After his comedic genius comes another attendee that specializes in poetry and spoken word - Penelope. Her use of word play I would imagine could net her an award like The Nobel Peace Prize. A title like "Nothing is Nothing" is sure to have some people contemplating life and its implications. After several others perform their various talents, I'm playing something on my Greek lute for the masses to relax and unwind. I'm all for de-stressing as much as possible.

The end of my day would be spending time with my family. Now, I'm a single guy in our current time, but ideally I'd have a wife and several children to cherish and to hold for many of my days. I would greet my wife with a quick but loving kiss while our children play in the backyard. I would join in playing ball with my kids (I used to be kind of a jock in high-school) and teaching them healthy competition. To fail is to live and to live is to fail. Failure is okay, because you can always turn it into success.

At night, once we have put our kids to bed, my wife and I discuss our day. I let her go first of course, as I'm listening intently to every word she says. She talks about the olive harvest having a nearly perfect season. Her Greek pizzas are always so good. Perhaps, I tell her about one of the attendees that almost started a food fight in the town square for a quick laugh. Or I could serenade her with a soft song as we drift to sleep as one. I don't know, it seems like a pretty great life to me.