A Life Worth Reliving

One of the questions for my Philosophy exam basically boils down to "Are you okay with the life you've lived? If you had to live it again, exactly as before, making absolutely no changes at all, would you be okay with that?" I was surprised to realise that my answer to that question is "Yes, I would be okay with that." Given some of the mistakes I've made and the effort I've gone through to change my habits, I was surprised to realise that I'd be okay with reliving my past mistakes. But my life is so much more than my mistakes. I've had good moments, too, including moments when I've done the right thing, even when it was difficult and moments when I've received miraculous blessings. I have a lot that I would like to change, but I also have a lot to be thankful for. Taking my life as a whole, it's been a pretty good life. So, even if I can't change anything, and I have to relive my life, complete with my mistakes and rough spots, I don't think I would mind it.

I know that you don't have to answer the question for your Philosophy class (because you're probably not taking one), and there's a fair chance that your life hasn't been quite as good as mine, but I'd encourage you to think about the question anyway. If you had to relive your life, how would you feel about that? Have you lived your life in such a way that you'd be okay with living it again? If not, what would you like to change?

Because the good news is that we can change our lives, or at least some parts of them. If we don't like our habits, for example, we can take the steps we need to change them. Especially with God's help, we can make our lives lives we'd like to live again.

Of course, the question is moot anyway. None of us are actually going to relive our lives. But the way we live our lives now will have a great impact on the lives we live hereafter. And those lives, we actually will keep living for eternity. Let us evaluate our lives and try to ensure that the lives we are living and will live are lives that are worth living and reliving.