A reporter was interviewing me recently and she asked me what I thought the focal point of my writing was. I said it was not dogs or animals, really, it was the search for the good life. I set out on that quest some years ago, and I have never abandoned it, and will never abandon it. I’m not sure I know yet what the good life is, but I know some things about it. It is a life of love, work and meaning.
For me, the good life must be shared – a spouse, partner, friends and sure, animals too. It is not meaningful to me if it is solitary.
The good life must have meaning. It cannot, for me, only be about money, security, having health insurance. That is a form of economic bondage, social slavery for me, and there is nothing worse than being a slave.
The good life is about self-determination. Doctors and tests do not decide if I am healthy, I decide that. I seek a free voice in my work, and a good life to me means loving my work.
The good life is about love. Love is something of a cliche, a discarded, sappy word. It is not that for me. It is everything for me. It is the point, the reason we endure.
The good life for me is about creativity. Creating words and images and stories that touch the hearts and emotions of people, hopefully life them up. I am a warrior for light and color. The good life has both.
The good life for me is a spiritual life. Seeking to shed anger, fear and judgment. My life is not an argument. I may never get there, but I will not stop trying.
The good life is about connection. Animals, people, friends. Making contact, sharing experience, entering into a web of community and affection and respect.
The good life is about change, meeting the challenge to adapt, to be relevant. To shed the old days and live in the new ones.
The good life is about responsibility. Being authentic, understanding what you can afford, standing in your own truth, not the truth of other people.
I will never stop seeking the good life, searching for it, trying to understand it, sharing the experience of the quest.