CAN'T LIFE BE BETTER THAN THIS?

In Henry Thoreau's book, "Walden," for
the first time and even then I was haunted by his complaint
that "Most men live lives of quiet desperation." While he's
famous for that quote, most people don't know the chapter
it comes from.
He has a long essay on the pain he sees in most people's
lives. He isn't talking about the illness or trauma that
can strike any of us, but the fact that so many good
people, doing the best they can, are stuck in a sort of
limbo where they aren't terribly miserable, but they aren't
very happy, either. He talks about people working all month
to pay the bills, with nothing to show for it. He talks
about people doing work that doesn't suit them, or with
lifestyles that are bereft of beauty, humor, art or joy.
He talks about people "settling" for less than life could
be.
He talks about people who are bored, always looking for
some temporary pleasure to distract or humor them. He talks
about people who are so busy with the mundane and ordinary
tasks of life that they have no time or energy or passion
to explore the unlimited potential of being fully human and
fully alive. And he says this is a kind of "desperation."
This week, our culture's distraction with the violence in
Europe made me think about these things again. Too often,
we fall prey to the media's desire to dazzle us with the
bizarre that we forget to make the most of our own lives,
here and now.
It is true, of course, that we are all fascinated by the
unusual and the extraordinary. Of course we are! There's no
shame or problem with that, so long as it is only a
temporary distraction from our primary focus of living a
great life.
We live in a time when anything that happens, anywhere on
earth, comes into our homes and shows up on our phones, in
"real time." Used appropriately, our access to instant
communication is a wonderful thing! No one can deny that.
But for some of us, the daily news plus our daily routine
prevent us from expressing the highest and best that is in
us. We worry about the economy or politics or  the threats
war, and these things, along with our ordinary daily
rituals, become a substitute for living according to our
highest ideals.
Don't let that happen to you!
Every single day, we are faced with the choice of how we
will live. We can worry about the news, or we can build the
life we want. We can expend enormous energy on big,
exciting problems "out there" (about which we can do
little) or we can address the challenges of living the life
we choose. It's up to each of us how we use our time and
talents, every day.
Day by day, we can build memories with our children, or we
can focus on tragedy. We can read the best books ever
written, or we can watch more television. We can build our
businesses and develop our skills, or we can fret about the
economy. We can move and dance and make our own music, or
we download more iTunes.
Throughout history, most people have been hard pressed to
do more than survive, but that is not us! We have the best
education and richest resources in history! We can enjoy
fine wine for a few dollars a glass. We can enjoy great
music, or great conversation, or listen to the smartest
people on earth, often in person, and anytime via
recordings. The world is our oyster! And yet, too often, we
let it pass us by.
This week, determine that you will live your own life, in
your own way, to the very best of your ability. Be as
eccentric and unique and joyful as you truly are! Do one
new thing, or do at least one thing differently. Spend one
hour exploring the highest and best that is in you. I think
you'll like the results.