photo by steed media service

The uneventful life doesn’t suffer from hysteria, but neither does it soar from touching divine pleasure. Henry David Thoreau, a 19th century writer and philosopher aptly described the habitual nature of everyday life when he wrote, “Most men live lives of quiet desperation and die with the song still in them.” Not much has changed in the human condition since Thoreau penned those lines. It’s sad to contemplate, but most people are just going through the motions, sleepwalking their way through life. For some, the only real evidence that they are indeed, alive, is the rhythmic rising and falling of their chest with each breath.

It does take more than a little fortitude to fight back despair and depression sometimes. Mental paralysis cripples more people than any physical illness or injury. But the fight can be waged and won in your lifetime. When your mind is tethered to disaster, no amount of flailing of the arms or hand wringing will rescue you. When you can’t conceive of a better life for yourself, you surely can’t create one. Sure, your life might be quiet, but is that what you want your epitaph to read, “Here lies a quiet soul, who longed for more, but settled for fool’s gold”?

Don’t be a waiter. Don’t wait to win the lottery; for the kids to grow up; to get a new car; to save a certain amount of money; to lose weight; to get a better job; to learn a new skill; etc., to live life on your own terms. Delaying your dream won’t get you any closer to attaining it. The world is in need of your mellifluous song. Don’t let it die within you. Peace.

- munson steed , publisher

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