Day: April 18, 2012

There is a deer stand in the deep woods on the edge of Bedlam Farm, off of the path. Personally, I cannot imagine sitting in this thing for hours in the November cold waiting to shoot a deer, but then, I have never really functioned well in the manly arts. I respect the hunters I know, they are good and conscientious people and they are carrying out a long and deep tradition for them. They are careful, respectful and safety-conscious for the most part. The deer stand is a part of the rural landscape in its own way, and it always reminds me that I am not really good at many of the things men love to do.

Every morning, I begin my day reading from Henry David Thoreau, in a sense, my daily energy/vitamin boost when I want to think about my life, when I need to be reminded that however mean life can sometimes be, it is my life, and I intend to live it.

“However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Live your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poor-house.”

When I think about what I fear, I have learned to work hard to remind myself of this very great wisdom.  Everywhere I hear people calling their lives hard names and I have learned that rather than call my life a hard name, I need to change my life, as the world is not going to change for me. That involves risk, fear and change. The rewards can be very great. When we complain about our lives, about Wall Street, gas prices, the rising cost of things, the government, sharing our pity-me stories, forgetting that loss and death are integral parts of life. Sometimes, wrote Thoreau, it is life near the bone that is sweetest.