"Let every one mind his own business, and endeavor to be what he was
made. Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed and in such desperate
enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is
because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears,
however measured or far away." - Henry David Thoreau
I am a big Thoreau fan, even if he is considered one of
the biggest lazy bums in American history. Thoreau, generally remembered as the
recluse who lived in a shack in the woods, who everyone studied back in 10
th
grade English class, is rarely remembered for anything else.
Thoreau
did move to a cabin in the woods for 2 years of his life; he built his own
house, grew his own food and perfected the art of cheap entertainment. He wrote
that his goal in moving to Walden Pond was to live an experiment in simplicity
and introspection but, it was also a place to give him time to write a book and
escape local gossip. At the time, he could not hold a steady job and had little
luck in relationships and was mourning the death of his brother.
Despite popular myth, he was not a hermit. He had frequent
visitors to the cabin such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Alcott family and even
invited people to stay with him. Many people mistakenly think that he was being
hypocritical by having guests and accepting food from others. However, his goal
was not self-sufficiency in its entirety but an attempt to demonstrate how far
societal norms deviated from the necessaries of life. He showed that a man can
live working one day a week and enjoying the remaining six, which was his goal.
While not having a tremendous impact during his lifetime, his works went on to
inspire many influential people, like Mahatma Gandhi, specifically, Civil Disobedience.
Every
once in a while I will pick up
Walden.
Many of his thoughts ring true, even if they are the ramblings of a societal
reject. Perhaps living a “solitary life” really did give him the wisdom he
sought. I was particularly enthralled with the quote above recently. I have a
few friends who recently feel that they are behind the societal norms in their
lives. Some are behind in school, some are behind at work and some are behind
at love. I myself thought that it was awful when people would ask me the inevitable
question, “So, when are you getting married?” only to realize that it’s a
different kind of awful when people stop asking as if you've "peaked." :D
I
feel that this generation, and succeeding ones, has an increasingly difficult
time with society’s timeline for we see everyone’s timelines plastered on the
internet (thanks social networking.) We see practically everyone we’ve ever
met, graduating, getting married, having children, succeeding in all parts of
life and feel discontent with ours.
We
also live in a world where few things are what they seem. We compare ourselves
to the mirages we see. We don’t see what goes into making a beautiful actress.
We look at her and feel inadequate. We don’t see the make-up or airbrushing. We
hear a singer and don’t hear the digital enhancement. We just wonder why we’re
off. There are many naturally beautiful women and amazing musicians but we
spend a lot of time filtering fact from fiction.
It
is the same on a personal level for us. Facebook, blogs and websites erect an
imperfect cloak upon the lives of others, leaving only glimpses of perfect
lives through the holes. It is hard peeling truth from the lie which we are
shown.
We
should follow our “own drummer” despite naysayers and gossips or what we think everyone else is doing. The world has
taken to measuring success and happiness by money because it is an easy
universal standard. But money is a poor indication of happiness. Everyone has
their own goals, dreams and standards of success. The “good life” of one man in
a prison sentence for another, so why do we place these men on the same
measuring tape?
This post is dedicated to my friends who should enjoy life as each journey is different and they are not comparable. Make choices that are right for you.
