Because the time of death is not fixed, instead of questioning if we will be able to live an abundant life, we should question if we are living an abundant life in present. The honor/identity that you are born with, the willingness of attaining knowledge, search of true love, and the struggle to achieve all of these things help a human being living an abundant life in present.

Human beings are born with certain identities that they continue to live with for the rest of their lives. Such identities include tribes, casts, religions, ethnicity, family background, and social status.. The honor of being born in a particular family or religion has shaped the way we view the world. It also brings for us the responsibility of achieving our dreams while staying honorable under the guidelines of our family ideology. While discussing the matter of honor with my mates and professor, many of us questioned honor as it is used to kill people in some parts of the world. In today’s world, honor is sometimes put with the term shame and in many areas around the world people have misused the term honor in order to gain their personal interests.

One such example is honor killing in many parts of the world. People have killed daughters and sons on the name of family/religious honors. But the goodness of honor is far different than what some people have used it for. Honor brings guidelines, restrictions and traditions that are acceptable in a society and help us living an “honorable” life. Living an honorable life is important because it helps us building the true meanings of life. Publilius Syrus, a famous Latin writer, once said, “what is left when honor is lost?”

While we grow up according to our family identities and honors, many of us change our lifestyles by attaining knowledge. The struggle to live an abundant life requires us to gain knowledge at every single turn of the road of life. Plato’s rationalist theory of knowledge best explains why knowledge can help us to live an abundant life. Plato stresses that knowledge is different from opinions because opinions are produced by one’s identity and the type of people he or she surrounds with whereas true knowledge is a product of rational reasoning. ( Bolisani, et al) Knowledge helps us living an abundant life by allowing us to think beyond what our beliefs are. It gives us a chance to be the seekers of truth by learning morality and behavior in any field of life. It provides us the basic skills of life to survive.

While Dr. Goff was discussing the importance of knowledge with his students he used climate change as an example. How would we know that our activities are harming the planet if we didn’t have the ability of gaining knowledge? Dr. Goff’s question is answered by Plato’s theory because today there are millions of people who agree that humans are harming climate regardless of what their beliefs are. The rational reasoning by climate scientists, environmentalists and chemists has helped them to understand that there is something done by humans which is impacting our planet. This is how knowledge affects the human beings. It helps us to change our ideology about the things that aren’t helping us to live the best life.

Finally, the most important feature of living an abundant life is love. Love is an essential need which humans need in every stage of life. Sara Chałońska, an Applied Linguistics: English, German Student at Kazimierz Wielki University, defines love in three different categories: love to family members, and love to a partner, conceptual love. (Chałońska) The love that we receive from the family members is essential because it provides us emotional support and helps us to live a happier life. The unconditional love for kids by their parents is known to be the strongest type of love. (Chałońska) It is a beautiful bond which starts before the baby is even born.

The beauty of family love is so great that it is the only one which can be guaranteed to stay with us for lifetime. Love to a partner pretends to be a beautiful type of love which we develop when we meet someone who seems to perfect our life. “ It is believed to be the most beautiful one is the affection between partners, people of any description, be they married or cohabiting, boyfriend and girlfriend, straight or gay, young or old,” says Sara in her report on defining love. It is believed to be a strong need of humans because it provides us sexual satisfaction. Apart from that, history is filled with the stories in which one partner helped the other to reach the heights of glory.

One such example is of Muhammad, a prophet of Arabia. Muhammad claimed that his life would have never been same without the presence of his first wife Khadija. Muhammad once said,“She believed in me when no one else did; she accepted Islam when people rejected me; and she helped and comforted me when there was no one else to lend me a helping hand.” The love of family members and partner is essential for humans to live a meaningful life because for many a meaningful life is about having a great relationship with someone they love.

The third category of love which helps us in living an abundant life is conceptual love. It is defined to be a type of love which we find in ideas, minds, and materialistic objects. It can be the idea of loving dogs or cats; the love for cars; the love that one receive from honoring their identity or the love that one receives from gaining knowledge. Conceptual reason is a reason why people choose to struggle for honor gaining knowledge. It is a motive that we use to make ourselves lovable in our society.

There are many things that we need to struggle for in order to live an abundant life in present. The thesis of this paper suggests that the struggle to achieve those things is what we call an abundant life. There are many great leaders who showed us the right path to live an abundant life. In his first Presidency Message, an American religious leader President Thomas S. Monson, teaches the citizens how they can live an abundant life. His most famous suggestions included facing challenges with courage, believing in yourself and having a positive attitude. The continuous struggle of honoring our identities, seeking true knowledge, and searching for love will help us to live an abundant life in present. Everyday of life will have a purpose and once it is over, it will only leave us with proud and satisfaction.