And there are variations, some of which follow:
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much, Leave Memories.
Live Every Moment, Laugh Every Day, Love Beyond Words.
Live Well, Learn Plenty, Laugh Often, Love Much.
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much, Dream Big.
As best I can determine, the slogan/phrase/mantra comes from a poem by Elisabeth-Anne "Bessie" Anderson Stanley titled either What is Success? or What Constitutes Success? (Although the poem Success, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, is sometimes cited as the originating source.) Stanley's poem follows:
He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much;
Who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men
and the love of little children;
Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
Who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it;
Who has left the world better than he found it,
Whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
Who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had;
Whose life was an inspiration;
Whose memory a benediction.
There are a million-and-one essays, articles, poems, songs, sermons, and Ted Talks about how to live well. For this posting, I have consulted material from two other sources on how to go about the business of Living Well. Living a Life that Matters.
Those two sources are Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama.
Here, in part, and with some editing, is what the two gentlemen have to offer:
Live and let live. Move forward and let others do the same.
Be giving of yourself to others...be open and generous toward others.
Proceed calmly in life.
Have a healthy sense of leisure.
Respect and take care of nature.
Let go of negative things quickly.
Respect others’ beliefs.
Work for peace. The call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive and dynamic.
Be aware that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson. If you lose what you have learned not to do, you will be doomed to repeat it.
Take responsibility for all your actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. Not everything that you desire will be necessarily good for you in the long run.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly. Rules are meant to be broken. Most of them are put in place by archaic, corrupt institutions that seek only to enslave and maintain their own power. If authority was never questioned, we could be a stagnant civilization.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. And do not let your pride get in the way of taking those steps. Apologize, taking full responsibility. That will speak for your character.
Spend some time alone every day.
Be open to change, but don’t let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. Silence leads to relaxed contemplation during which emotions have less influence and logic can take over.
A loving atmosphere should be the foundation for your life.
In disagreements, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth. Hurting the earth is hurting yourself and the futures of your children and loved ones.
As often as possible, go someplace you’ve never been before. Experience new places and new things. The Earth is so vast with unique and beautiful places, why wouldn’t you want to go explore them?
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. The opposite is a sign that the relationship should end. If you need someone more than you love them, it is a sign of dependency, not affection.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. Success is not truly success if you had to compromise yourself or your loved ones in order to achieve it.
Live in the moment. Do not forget nor dwell on the past, but do forgive it. Be aware of the future but do no fear or worry about it. Focus on the present moment, and that moment alone. Living in any other moment will only bring you anguish. The past cannot be changed and the future cannot be controlled. The only time that is malleable is the present moment.
Seek the company of positive people. The people around you cannot control your feeling and actions, but they can influence them. So befriend and spend your time with optimistic, open-minded, overall positive people who will only contribute more positivity to your life.
Decide what you want before you proceed to do anything. What is it that you want? That answer requires a lot more thinking. More than just thinking actually, it requires deep contemplation in a quiet place on your own.
Simple suggestions for Living Well.
Simple...but not simplistic.
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