Good Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Good Life - Essay Example Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the lot of man. (Lawall & Mack 32-33) Siduri, herself, being a woman and being the maker of wine, represents sensual pleasure. Is it not; the woman is man’s object of sexual pleasure and desire? And is it not; wine tastes too good to man’s appetite? Furthermore, Siduri’s words also imply that if immortality is to gods, having the best in life is to man. So, in life, man should seek the best and the most in life. Just like what most of us believe today: Life is short; so, live it to the fullest. For Enkidu; I loved him dearly; together we endured all kinds of hardships; on his account I have come, for the common lot of man has taken him†¦ Since he went, my life is nothing; that is why I have travelled here in search of Utnapishtim my father; for men say he has entered the assembly of the gods, and has found everlasting life: I have a desire to question him, concerning the living and the dead.’ (31) Understanding these words of Gilgamesh, good life means having the wisdom to fully understand life. However, this can only be achieved if man learns to love, just like what happened to Gilgamesh and Enkidu – Enkidu sought for life because he felt sorry to leave Gilgamesh forever, while Gilgamesh lost the pleasures of life with the death of Enkidu. As we understand what is truly good in life, we come to learn that good life is hard to achieve, because it is more of a responsibility than pleasure: "Reed-house, reed-house! Wall, O wall, hearken reed-house, wall reflect; O man of Shurrupak, son of Ubara-Tutu; tear down your house and build a boat, abandon possessions and look for life, despise worldly goods and save your soul alive† (35). Furthermore, leading a good life is filled with trials and challenges: â€Å"†¦ was it for this that I toiled with my hands, is it for