Microsoft Word - Moreau Integration 4.docx


A Life Well-Lived is One where We Respect Others 

By  

 

I believe that pursuing a life well lived will be heavily influenced by the mission 

statement which I wrote in Moreau Week 13. I said, “I want to be the person that everyone wants 

to be around” (“QQC 13” by  – Moreau FYE Week 13). I plan on taking care 

of myself both mentally and physically and working to lift up the people around me. To truly 

have a life well-lived, I believe that the world should be better for having me in it; therefore, I 

would like to touch as many lives as I can. 

 Having a life well-lived, first, depends on taking care of oneself. You cannot have an 

impact on others if you don’t have a clear sense of identity and purpose. Self-reflection is an 

important part of this. In an article on TED, Pico Iyer wrote, “The need for an empty space, a 

pause, is something we have all felt in our bones” (“Why We Need to Slow Down Our Lives” by 

Pico Iyer – Moreau FYE Week 1). I think it is very important to take time to rest and enjoy 

ourselves because life is about so much more than stress and work. 

 However, when we look at ourselves, it is important that we do it in the right way. Tasha 

Eurich says that “evidence shows the simple act of translating our emotions into language — 

versus simply experiencing them — can stop our brains from activating our amygdala” (“The 

Right Way to be Introspective (Yes, There’s a Wrong Way)” by Tasha Eurich – Moreau FYE 

Week 6). What this means is that, if we are not careful of how we are introspective, we can 

actually prevent our bodies from processing emotions. We have to make sure that we ask 

questions about what is happening to us and not questions about why is something happening to 

us. 



 You cannot live a good life alone. Throughout life, it is important to make connections 

and get to know the people around you. This is a nice feature of the Notre Dame community. 

Through Irish Compass, you can make connections with people in your career fields and meet 

people who can mentor you to living a good life (IrishCompass Moreau FYE Week 5). The 

Meruelo Center for Career Development also offers such opportunities to make connections and 

emphasizes the importance of allowing your life to move organically. The center says that, 

“There seems to be this commonly held belief in our society that a major equals a certain career 

path” (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development – 

Moreau FYE Week 4). It is important that we know that we don’t have to follow one path. Each 

of has our own path that is not determined by our past but on what we do in the future. 

 The most important part of a life well-lived is to impact others. We need to be leaders in 

our community who respect all people and treat everyone with dignity. “We have to be willing to 

hear what others need and to give ourselves in response even when our attempt to respond may 

not be appreciated” (“Three Key Questions” by Fr. Michael Himes – Moreau FYE Week 3). I 

believe that what Father Himes is saying is that we need to listen to and respect what others have 

to say; however, we have an obligation to respond to them honestly, even if they do not 

appreciate our answer. He is emphasizing that we need to balance the needs and beliefs of others 

with our own convictions. 

 Father Hesburgh was an excellent example of this balance. He fought very hard to ensure 

that the world was a better place when he left it, and he worked to treat everyone with respect. 

One of the things that made Father Hesburgh so successful in changing the world was his respect 

for all sides of a debate. “True leadership has been the people who could bridge two ideologies” 

(“Hesburgh” by Barca and O’Malley – Moreau FYE Week 2). Father Hesburgh got people, who 



would normally never associate, to work together and, in doing so, was able to solve some of the 

world’s toughest problems. 

 It is extremely hard to bridge an ideology gap. Especially in today’s era of social media, 

where we are often surrounded by opinions that we agree with. We need to take a special effort 

to understand the opinions of those who disagree with us. Dr. Paul Blaschko says, “We need to 

ask ourselves whether our picture of our opponents is accurate and well thought out, whether we 

might be trapped in the feedback loops characteristic of an echo chamber” (“How to Avoid an 

Echo Chamber” by Dr. Paul Blaschko – Moreau FYE Week 11). If we really take steps to 

understand our opponents and view them as partners to value, not enemies to defeat, we can 

really begin to take steps to heal some of the great divisions within this country. So often, all it 

takes is just getting to know someone who thinks differently than you. Find out what you have in 

common because it is so hard to disparage someone you know. Father Boyle talks about how 

enemy gang members became friends while working for him. He advises us to, “Close both eyes; 

see with the other one” (“Chapter 8: Jurisdiction” by Fr. Greg Boyle – Moreau FYE Week 7). He 

is telling us to forget what we assume other people and truly get to know them. He believes that 

we will be unable to dislike them after that. 

 The University understands the importance of bringing people together from different 

backgrounds, that is why we have a class of such diverse backgrounds and experiences. I think 

that du lac mentions something very powerful: “The University of Notre Dame strives for a spirit 

of inclusion among the members of this community for distinct reasons articulated in our 

Christian tradition” (du Lac: A Guide to Student Life – Moreau FYE Week 10). I agree with this 

sentiment that, as Christians, we are called to treat everyone with respect and dignity. I believe 



that the community we have here offers a great opportunity to begin practicing living a life well-

lived. 

 It is one thing to talk about living a life well-lived and another to actually live out your 

goals. The Holy Cross Constitution says, “For the kingdom to come in this world, disciples must 

have the competence to see and the courage to act” (Holy Cross Mission Statement – Moreau 

FYE Week 12). The most important part of a life well lived is action. Sometimes things don’t go 

as we plan; however, the important thing is that we keep moving forward and making the effort 

to do the right thing. When Steve Reifenberg went to South American to work at an orphanage, 

he expected to change these people’s lives. However, he ended up getting extremely ill. “The 

people I had so earnestly come to serve (and whose lives I had imagined transforming) had to 

take care of me” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Prof Steve 

Reifenberg – Moreau FYE Week 9). The people he went to help ended up serving him. Even 

though he failed to accomplish his goal, he learned valuable life lessons that can help him to 

make a difference in the future. Therefore, I believe that we should always strive to do the right 

thing and we should learn from our mistakes.