The Good Life

I just caught another re-run of 'Saving Private Ryan' on HBO. I first watched it in 1998, which was when it came out, after my second relationship ended. I watched it again with my wife during our honeymoon in the Maldives in Nov 2004. To say this movie holds a special place in my heart is therefore a gross understatement. I've since seen it countless other times and it never fails to deliver.

There are many seminal moments in the movie. One had Tom Hanks' character, CPT John H Miller, diffusing a potentially explosive situation among his subordinates by telling them his job back home. Apparently, the soldiers had been betting on what his profession was. And of course who can forget the intense 20-plus-minute opening which depicted the Omaha beachhead assault during the D-day invasion of Normandy. But to me, the key moment was when Miller lies dying on the bridge, just after they had thwarted the Germans' advance. He pulled Ryan to him and told him to "earn this moment"; i.e., to make sure that his life was worth something as many men had died to bring him back to his family. [For those who haven't watched this movie, its about Miller and a group of 7 rangers who were ordered to bring back PFC James Francis Ryan as his 3 other brothers had all been killed in action. You need to watch this as its a movie with a lot of heart.] At the end of the show, an aged Ryan stood in front of Miller's gravestone at Arlington National Cemetery with tears streaming down his eyes. He said that he hoped he had lived a good life in the eyes of Miller and that he thought about what Miller had told him every day.

The good life, to many people, is about material comfort and having arrived at a good station in life. Very seldom do we hear people talk about being a good man and living the good life; a life that brings out one's potential and impacts those around him. And even more rare do we see someone actually living out such a life. I was touched by how deeply Ryan felt when he asked his wife if he had been a good man. Much as this may sound cliche, we should all strive to live the good life; a life that's full of character, that's constructive and that's edifying to ourselves and those around us. The good life, according to Bertrand Russell, is inspired by love and guided by knowledge. May we all live the good life so that others may remember us for who we are and not what we have.

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