The Truth About Living Well

Living well is messy—

and can be filled with uncertainty

What image comes to mind when I mention living well? I did a quick search to see how others visually captured the idea of living well, and these are some of what I found:

But what if I told you that living well looks more like this?!

The Most Interesting Man In The World 😆

It may seem counterintuitive: how is it that a messy, tattered set of experiences is considered a life lived well, rather than an idealistic, balanced life? We were made to take chances, explore, be curious, dream, and imagine…and that involves risks.

At the same time, our greatest temptation is to follow comfort and ease (you know, we all prefer the easy button!). Yet, I’d argue that the pursuit of the easy rarely leads to a life well-lived.

Living well is…well, messy. And it can be filled with uncertainty.

Living well is taking a chance.

Doing something you’re not used to doing.

Being willing to be bad at something and then getting better.

It’s appreciating what other people create.

It’s also appreciating what YOU create.

Living well involves working through thoughts and emotions by taking action with your hands (in other words, doing something).

It’s touching the work and the people around us (literally and figuratively)

with a heart of curiosity, intrigue, compassion, and understanding.

This might look like taking time to feel the bark of a tree,

gently caress the petals of a flower,

or a soft touch to the shoulder or elbow of someone in need.

I heard a quote several years ago that went something like this: While I may not be where I want to be, at least I’m not where I used to be.

Living well is growth.

In 2024, I wrote an article for Paola Lane Magazine Issue No. 9: Imagination, featuring watercolor artist Wendy Solganik. During our interview, we talked about the process of growing and also how we are critical of our work. However, she counters this by revisiting her starting point. Wendy appreciates not only how she has improved in her skills, but also the effort and work she put in during her early days.

Living well is appreciating what we create and having the courage to be bad at something, knowing that it is not where it will stay or where it will end.

Think about something you tend to be critical of within yourself. Look for examples of earlier work so you can appreciate how far you’ve come and be thankful for that part of you who had the courage to begin.

Here's a challenge to LIVE WELL: do something different this week.

Yes, you will probably stumble, fumble, and be bad at it...like my first time playing pickleball. Within the first few minutes, I did a major face plant on the court, tearing up my hand in the process. It hurt, was embarrassing, but it was also exhilarating. Remember, you have to be bad at something in order to get good at it!

Appreciate the mess and laugh at yourself. Perhaps that's why I love the image of the man, sitting in the rain with a tattered umbrella. It reminds me that living well involves messes, the uncertainty of taking a chance, and the humiliation that can come with being bad at something initially. In other words, you have to go through the storm to find the rainbow.