The Tale Behind the Name
eudaemonia noun also spelled eudaemonia
eu·dae·mo·nia|\ˌyüdēˈmōnēə\
Greek philosophy -Aristotelian ethics, the condition of human flourishing or of living well. According to Aristotle, every living or human-made thing, including its parts, has a unique or characteristic function or activity that distinguishes it from all other things. The highest good of a thing consists of the good performance of its characteristic function, and the virtue or excellence of a thing consists of whatever traits or qualities enable it to perform that function well. It follows that eudaimonia consists of the good performance of the characteristic function of human beings, whatever that may be, and human virtue or excellence is that combination of traits or qualities that enables humans to perform that function well."
Duignan, B. (2020, July 3). Eudaimonia. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/eudaimonia
Early on I discovered how influential thought and behavior are on external outcomes. I am a reflective, self-attuned individual who exists in a state of perpetual improvement. I need to be better than the past version of myself and live up to my potential. It is challenging to say the least. So much hard work and discipline is required and there is no guarantee of success in every situation. Regardless, I always gain something from the outcome.
During the fall semester of 2020, I took a course on death and dying. For a week the class focused on Aristotle and ethics. While researching I pulled up one of my favorite resources on YouTube: Crash Course. That was the first time I learned about eudaimonia. It resonated deeply! The perfect word that describes my state of being. I wrote it on a sticky note and stuck it to my monitor where it stayed for a long time. Currently it lives on my tack board, directly in my line of sight.
Time jump to July of 2021 when I was struggling to come up with a name for this project that was unique and reflected my purpose. I sat frustrated staring at the online thesaurus. Nothing was good enough. There HAS to be one word that exists somewhere in the ether that describes what I am doing! You know that saying that goes something like, "sometimes what you are looking for is right in front of you"? Well, there it was. Right in front of me sticking to my monitor. I shot out of the chair and raced into the room where my partner was and yelled, "I know what the name is going to be!!"
"What?!" he said startled.
"Eudaimonia! But I need to play with the spelling..."
"How about YOUdaimonia as in y-o-u?" He offered enthusiastically.
"YES! but EWE, e-w-e because it sounds like "you" and relates to sheep, wool, yarn and knitting!"
I didn't hear his response because I was too busy grooving to Kool & The Gang's "Celebration" while confetti rained down on me and fireworks lit up the sky.
Okay, that last part didn't really happen, but I hope you get a sense of how amazing I felt in that moment.
There you have it. That is the story behind the name. I would love to hear your name origin stories. Comment below or join the conversation on Instagram and Facebook.
