What is the key to a fulfilling life, a life that has meaning?
This question has been answered in many ways. Otto Paul Kretzmann was a professor and a pastor in the middle of the 20th century. He articulated perhaps the most succinct and true formulation of 'the good life.
Kretzmann stated that in order for man to thrive, survive and remain sane, he needs "something by which to live, something to live upon, and something to live towards."
Something to live on Kretzmann might have listed it second, but this is the foundation for a good life. It is difficult to find fulfillment in a life of paycheck-to-paycheck living. You need more than a subsistence income. Money doesn't buy happiness directly, but it can help to alleviate stress and worry, which in turn will make it easier to achieve.
A guide to living by. You can't find your way around without a map or compass. When every decision has to be made from scratch, it's difficult to create the momentum that is so important to happiness. To guide him, every man must have a set non-negotiable values, based on his well-earned convictions. Every man should have a code.
There is something to live for. When life is reduced to the mundane tasks required to maintain it, it becomes a dreary slog. Man needs to have a larger purpose than himself. Ideals that he will never achieve but enjoys striving for. Motivating reason to get up in the morning. Work that matters. People who are in need of him. Indeed, having a job and a purpose to your life is not very meaningful unless you live with someone you love.
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