Is it true that: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation”?

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” — Thoreau

This quote has always been powerful for me in checking in with myself (and clients, friends, family) as to how “in balance” I feel. Early in my journey of daily writing on this site, in “Doing from Being” I mused:

“we can choose to focus on being present to the moments and to sensing “who am I being?” in everything we do. From this, the self-awareness and self-knowledge grow, and from that one can make choices of what to “do”.

So, perhaps we don’t lead lives of “quiet desperation”, but it is important for each of us to “check-in” on whether we feel resigned, our senses dulled, and the impact this may have on us and those around us.

However, it appears that “quiet desperation” is far more commonplace than we imagine, as starkly highlighted in a powerful article by Matt Rudd in the Sunday Times in December 2018, called: “Why aren’t successful, middle-aged fathers happy?”, as well as add a few thoughts of my own.

Waterloo station, a commuter train station and one of the busiest in London. is one I go through several times a week. Regular readers may know or sense that I do not commute as a routine and also look to avoid the “commuter hours”. However, at times when I do…