Henry David Thoreau said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things..”
Well, I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m the quietest (or the loudest) of individuals. And as for desperation and resignation that seems a bit much. For most people work can be a rat race but, is what we do just resignation? I hope not. Now, sure, we all have to reach that endpoint and when that gets a lot closer, desperation and resignation start to sound more fitting, more apt. But Thoreau said the mass of men. Well, most men aren’t about to face death. We get a decent shot at a pretty decent span; “three score and ten” the Bible says.
And even when the end is in sight isn’t there any consolation in reflecting on the fact that you spent your life doing what you thought was best? Maybe it’s a matter of temperament. I guess Thoreau was a product of Yankee New England upbringing. And those people have always seemed a little cold and humorless for my taste. Maybe it’s a combination of puritanism and bad weather but they always seemed like they just bit into something that tasted bad (or maybe it was their reaction at seeing me). Maybe I’m just naturally cheerful. Call it my Mediterranean predisposition but I just think that every story has a happy ending. And this even though I look around me in every direction and I see wrack and ruin out to the horizon. And sure, when it’s time to start hauling away the wreckage I’ll swear and grumble and complain. But I’ll still look forward to a lunch break and quitting time. And then there has to be some human joy somewhere in that mess.
I know some people who live the other way. And they are quite a bit better off than I am. That grim determination has its advantages. You can stuff a 401k plan with quite a lot of money if you’re grimly determined. And maybe they will have an easier time of it at that last stand knowing that everything is paid for. I guess it’s kind of the Cheops or Ozymandias option. But it still feels kind of grim to me.
So, I like to think that most of us try to live lives of quiet or not so quiet inspiration mixed with perspiration. I think the guy who said, “Where there’s life there’s hope” had it right. While there’s still blood pumping through your veins and air being sucked into your lungs there’s hope and more than hope. There’s at least a little excitement. Even if you’re a hundred there’s still the challenge of trying to get on your feet and remembering what it is you have to do to keep breathing that day. And until that gets to be too much for your spirit you have a reason to greet the day.
And if you still have anyone in your life who cares whether you live or die you’ve got a world outside yourself to think about. Maybe people call that quiet desperation. Or maybe I’m the exception. Maybe I’ve just been blessed with much more than the mass of men have. But I kind of doubt it. I’m just an average guy with the average life. Well, except for Camera Girl. She’s pretty great. But don’t tell her. She might demand a better contract.