Integration Three Clark 1 FYS 10102 4 March 2022 A Life of Perspective, A Life Well-Lived One of the characteristics of a life-well lived is that of self-reflection, and more importantly, the ability to change one’s life based on that self-reflection. In her life, Maggie worked towards this self-reflection through her consistent work towards slowing down in terms of her work and family life balance. Every time when she got home from work, she would put away the laptop and make sure to take a lot of her life to spend time with her beloved family. She found “Vienna” by Billy Joel to be very inspirational in leading her to this conclusion of life’s importance not solely lying on work, but also on our ability to slow down our lives and reflect on what is truly important. All in all, she realized that “ in the end, all our journeys have to bring us home” and that the true importance lies in that introspective journey home, rather than the extremely busy nature of our daily work lives (“Why we need to slow down our lives” by Pico Iyer-Moreau FYE Week One). Another characteristic of Maggie’s life was her ability to converse and get along with people of all different opinions. In her personal and professional life, she had colleagues and friends who disagreed with her. Instead of only ignoring their differences or belittling them, she encouraged the discussion of their opinions. In a world of ever-increasing polarization and animosity towards differing opinions, she encouraged the belief that “you can’t censor ideas that disagree with your own” (“Hesburgh” film–Moreau FYE Week Two). In this core belief, she strengthened and questioned her own beliefs, thus ultimately allowing her to become a stronger-willed and more sympathetic person in general. Clark 2 Besides looking at both sides in terms of opinion, Maggie also looked at both sides of the scenario in terms of the idea of life. While it might initially seem pessimistic, Maggie lived with her death in mind. She believed that “We try to suppress the thought of death, or escape it, or run away from it because we think that’s where we’ll find happiness…But it’s actually in facing the darkest realities of life that we find light in them” (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” by Ruth Graham–Moreau FYE Week Three). In order to live for her death, Maggie made sure to spend her time wisely and therefore make her life worthwhile. Because of this, she remained a dedicated Catholic throughout her life and was sure to donate her time and money to those who needed it more than herself. While her work evidently did not take up all of her time, Maggie’s job was really important to her. She made sure to contribute to the world positively and in a way about which she was passionate. To do this, she was an editor at a print newspaper–she believed in the power and importance of journalism. Throughout her schooling and her 20s, she contemplated careers for a long time before ultimately landing in the publishing field. This era of self-discovery was extremely important to her well-being and liking of her career in the long run since “You have to know yourself first - your values, interests, personality, and skills (VIPS) - before you can make effective career choices” (“Navigating Your Career Journey”– Moreau FYE Week Four). Even though she was satisfied with this career choice, she also realized that “The process of discernment is an ongoing, lifelong endeavor” (“Spring 2022 Week Five: Discerning a Life Well-Lived Discernment Conversation Activity”– Moreau FYE Week Five) Her life reflected this. She moved around a lot for her job, and worked in all areas of publishing–the writing, editing, and business sides–as her desires for her life and career changed. In this exploration of various areas of a singular field, Maggie came to understand and be able to effectively Clark 3 communicate with people of all different backgrounds. In both her career, and more importantly in her life well-lived, this unique perspective was fundamental to her ever-present curiosity and desire to learn. Maggie’s life was characterized by career discernment, in addition to personal discernment. Introspection became essential to her, especially as her life became more chaotic as her career advanced and her family developed. She practiced introspection by beginning the habit of walking. She began this habit at Notre Dame, and continued it throughout the rest of her life. In this way, she became more connected to nature and therefore to God’s creation. She learned to slow down and appreciate the beauty in her life, and was sure to do so by taking these walks alone. This solitude gave her important daily reflective time, and thus allowed introspection to positively affect all aspects of the rest of her life. Introspection in this way also allowed her ample time to contemplate her life and her decisions daily, thus making it a process that did not seem as scary when it came to bigger life decisions. Her strategy for this was always asking “What?” instead of “Why? since she believed that “‘Why” questions trap us in our past; “what” questions help us create a better future” (“The Right Way to be Introspective (yes, there’s a wrong way)”–Moreau FYE Week Six). After all of this, perhaps the most important aspect of Maggie’s life was the people in it. She was a caring, loving wife and mother, and a kind, compassionate human being in general. She treated all of those around her with kindness, since she lived vehemently by the golden rule. In this, she created a beautiful community in which all were welcome no matter their background. With this, she thought that “sometimes you’re thrown into each other’s jurisdiction, and that feels better than living, as the Buddhists say, in the ‘illusion of separateness’”(“Tattoos on the Heart Chapter 8” by Greg Boyle–Moreau FYE Week 7). This idea of fate drove her every Clark 4 action and treatment of others, ultimately leading to the life well-lived so evidently exhibited by her story.