Life is short. Learn how to live well!

Or at least this is what Socrates said. But what exactly does live well mean?

Without answers to these questions, we are in danger of mis-living the only life we have. Where do we find them? Is "living" a skill to be taught or is it something that you achieve by chance? Does destiny have a say in it?

I've been stuck on this for quite a while. I've recently turned 27 and I thought I would have gotten the idea of life by now. I only realized that I probably still know little about the real meaning behind living. However, I'm slowly getting there.

Ages ago, silly teenager me thought that living abroad, having a car and being independent meant "I got it!" . Not even close.

Who was I a few years back? What exactly did I expect from life? What did "live well" mean back then for me and what's changed now?

We spend our lives working for things which do not matter. We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. After working hard to get what we desire, we realize that it isn’t what we wanted after all and so, the vicious cycle begins.

Travel back a few thousand years and you'll find that people saw the concept of life totally different. Marcus Aurelius has been described as the last great Roman Emperor. He lead his empire through an age of relative peace and stability. He faced great hardships and challenges, yet despite this, he managed to live a good life. He accomplished this through the philosophy of life he embodied.

In all honesty, I believe that people who live a life of purpose wake up each morning eager to face the new day. They pursue their dreams with fervor, put their heart into everything they do, and feel that they’re personally making a difference. A few days back, my landlady visited me and we fell into unbelievable reminiscing. I was fascinated by her. My dear Chung, a 65 year old Korean lady, single mother, whose life changed at an early age, has been through unforgettable ups and downs. From having to flee a suppressed country to making ends meet in the UK while raising her three children on her own, she has been a survivor through and through. Chung managed to finish her A-levels and received an unconditional offer from a prestigious University, all while breastfeeding her new born baby and working two jobs. She travelled all over the globe, learned to speak Japanese and write Arabic calligraphy and she is not stopping here. You would think that life hasn't treated her well for a good part of it, but she managed to find her purpose and it pushed her beyond human limits. Success in life begins with hard work and tears, and success definitely hasn't missed Chung. Ever since, she has written several columns regarding capitalist countries and freedom of speech in Korean newspapers (how brave!). She published a book only for the eyes of close friends and family. Recently she has donated a building she owned for the homeless. "When I arrived to this country, I had nothing. I've encountered only kind people and now I wish to give back to the community that embraced me as one of their own. My last wish is to go back to Korea and take care of my grandchildren".

When you discover your purpose, an inner peace will replace your worries. The purpose of life is a perpetual question that has intrigued mankind since the beginning of human existence. Somehow, Chung has found it, or at least hers.

Where do we begin?

The mistake we make is that we put way too much emphasis on the importance of external factors – money, family tradition, others' expectations of us and "what are people going to say?", rather than listening to our hearts and following where it leads us.

When we look behind the scenes, we might discover that it isn’t tangibles that our heart truly desires, but rather more valuable things : true friendship, happiness, love, fulfillment, awareness and inner peace .

Stop worrying about the past!

Worrying about the past can be a vicious circle. It will occupy your mind with thoughts and situations that aren’t related to your present situation, which finally prevents you from living life to the fullest. Let's put it this way: the key to success lies in the acceptance of what happened.

As a last reminder, don't lose connection with divinity. God has not created you without purpose. Our destiny has been written long before we were ever created. There's no point in thinking we're only roaming around this life without reason.

P.S I'm a winter baby, so Vivaldi's Winter hits me in a mysterious way. I've grown up with his classics. The Four Seasons was always playing on our old disc pick-up and my whole childhood revolves around it.

Until next time, my dears. And don't forget to live your life well!