Art Of Living

ART OF LIVING: rnThe term 'art-of-living' refers to capabilities for leading a good life. Since there are different views on what a good life is, there could also be a difference in the capabilities called for. The set of capabilities required for leading a happy life can be identified by means of empirical research. This capability-profile comes close to the notion of ‘positive mental health’. In the expression ‘art of living’ the notion ‘art’ means skill and living means ‘manner, the phrase denotes capability to leading our life. The art-of-living is seen as the skill of living up to the moral principles, since there different ideas of principles one must follow and also different skill requirement, each ideology has its own art of living. Living up to rules:rnOften the good life is seen as following a particular way of life, which involves adherence to quite specific behavioral rules. This is the case in religions where ritual and regimen is more important than abstract principle, for instance in some variants of Islam, which focus very much on daily prayer, dress code and abstinence of alcohol and pork. This focus on rules is also seen in cultures that lay more stress on 'norms' than on 'values'. In such cases, the art of living a good life is skill in living up to the rules. Living up to an idealrnThe good life is also conceived as living up to an ideal, such as contributing to a better society or preserving nature. An example is the 'Protestant Ethic', which requires that one delivers 'good works' and thus shows oneself to be a good steward in the garden of God. Living deliberatelyrnA good life should be 'authentic' in the first place, and since everybody is unique it should also be 'original'. In this view, the art-of-living is in discovering one's true self and living accordingly. Living Pleasantly:rnLiving pleasantly mainly focus on the things one does for pleasure and not on the pleasures that accompany the search of other matters. Two approaches can be recognized in this tradition: one focusing on greedy life, the other on serene life. Also these variants inherit different arts-of-living. Living a happy life: First of all one would think of general capabilities to cope with the problems of life, such as common sense, energy and some frustration tolerance. Since happiness depends heavily on the realities of life, happy living entails considerable reality control. This capability will be required for almost any way of life. “Self-understanding” as an aspect of positive mental health, a correct view of one-self, a sense of identity and a positive evaluation of oneself is required for a happy life.