Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Lives of Quiet Desperation

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation." -Henry David Thoreau, Walden

As a college student, I am living under the assumption that once I graduate I can make my life mean something. Make an impact. Affect change. You know, the naiive belief that I am more than just a vapor.

But if that is true, if my life is just a fleeting mist, then how am I supposed to not lead a life of quiet desperation? If I resign myself to the fact that I can have no lasting impact, then what keeps me from living the kind of life Thoreau observed and wrote about?

I'm not saying that nothing matters; I'm just wondering what the balance is between the humility of knowing that I am just a fragile piece of the great human race, one miniscule drop in an infinite ocean, one second of eternity, and living a life of purpose.

2 comments:

Emerly Sue said...

That is why we some how must come to realize that our lives are fleeting and are meaningless, but somehow are of infinite value. Infinite value doesn't come from ourselves, meaningfulness doesn't come from ourselves. I think we forget that sometimes. And I think that even if our actions and words do not live on forever etched into the stones of time, actions and words have the capability of living on in people. And even when those people die, what we did mattered. And I think that we forget that what we does matters to God, and he remembers forever.

That was a lot of thinking on my part. Thanks for making me do it.

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