I saw a quote today, something about, “the best day of your life.” That got me thinking… What does it mean to have the best day of your life? Many times we answer this type of question with things like, “The day I got married!”, “The day I got divorced!”, “When I got that huge promotion!”, or “When I lost my job and started a dream career!” These answers all place the emphasis on external things taking place. But is that our life? The external things that happen to us? If this is the case, many of us undoubtedly have far more bad days than good days, let alone “best” days.
What if, however, our life is not the the external things happening to us and around us, but rather, our internal being and the choices we make? What if we view our life as who we are and who we are becoming? Certainly that’s how others see our life isn’ it? Not what happens to us, but how we respond to what happens to us? In this light, a good day then is not dependent on our external circumstances, but on how we are responding and acting in relation to those external circumstances: responding well or not so well. A good day is when I have responded consistently in good ways.
What then would be “the best day of your life?” A day where you have responded well (in your thoughts and your actions) to all that is thrown at you circumstantially. If you can maintain your love, compassion, honesty, and justice in the circumstances thrown at you on these days (or just while driving in L.A. traffic), it will indeed be one of the best days of your life.
Don’t be captive to and controlled by the external, strive for “the best day of your life” everyday by being the best person you can. After all, you are your life, not what happens to you.
