"The mass men lead lives of quiet desperation." -- Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Bet you never thought you'd see me quoting a transcendentalist on my blog, didn't you? Too bad Thoreau knows what he's talking about, even if he carries it far too far and advises us all to sit on pumpkins instead of nice leather couches.
If we all helped each other out, if we all put ourselves on the back burner for a bit and took it upon ourselves to carry someone else's burden for a time, if we all simply took the time to care and to gently pry someone's true feelings from them, well, the desperation at least wouldn't be so quiet. We all know it's there, yet we refuse to speak of it; it's like the wire from Watership Down.
Why are we in despair, though? For desperation is the recklessness caused by being in despair. People despair who have no hope; people lose hope who cannot believe in something. If you cannot believe in yourself, you cannot believe in humanity. You will be unable to see the goodness contained in people's hearts, or the efforts they put forth to create and edify. If you cannot believe in humanity, your world will become bleak and bitter and will crash in upon you. Left to yourself, yet unable to believe in yourself, where do you turn?
I don't spend so many hours getting to know myself for nothing. I don't take the lessons I've learned or the wisdom I've gained and file it away for some far-distant Judgment Bar courtroom appeal. If you ever need any counsel or help or reassurance, or if you ever need to borrow hope, or even if you just want to rant for a while, I'm here. And maybe you'll learn to see how nice it is to feel compassion for someone and to desire to help them out, to recognize the humanity written on everyone's faces; and maybe it will spread. That is decency.
The crumbley nature of the world cood be because an oil shortage has started
ReplyDeleteTHINK HOW DEPENDENT WE ARE ON OIL
What is this decency campaign? What makes you think you're so perfect at it? You seem to lack modesty.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous--to get more info on the decency campaign, check out the sidebar under "Not To Be Forgotten." You'll find a post entitled "Decency" there. Though since you're already aware it's a campaign, I'm guessing you're more well-versed in it than just his post.
ReplyDeleteSimply put, it's an effort to make people more aware of other people. You don't have to love everyone, but you at least should treat them decently. I suppose this post would up the ante, requiring more from people than just not treating others badly. But not much more, just asking how someone's day was and being sincere. Okay, on reflection, it probably IS too much, but I refuse to believe that.
I never insinuated I was perfect at it. I'm only doing my part in trying, and urging others, through my blog, to do the same. I'm sorry it came off badly, and I apologize for that. Believe you me, I know I have plenty of faults, and I know I fall down and mess up in life, in school, in treating people decently. The whole thing with the lacking modesty, though? Uhh, I'm not so sure. I'm just making an announcement, and letting people know that they can come to me, as it's something I try do to every day. In fact, you can feel free to IM me and talk to me anytime you'd like. I'd enjoy that.