About Remembering and More Fun
Post 695:
For the most part, we all have a decent understanding of the basics. Remembering them is the hard bit, keeping them close and in the forefront of the brain. Amidst a daily slew of unceasing distractions, it can be a challenge. This is the reason for aphorisms, clichés, and quips. They provide a dose of poetry or musicality or folksiness to help us stay learned.
It’s also one of the reasons for good writing, one of the reasons I love words so much. They keep me from slipping off ledges. (Most of the time. Okay, some of the time)
Thomas Hardy was describing a village celebration in one of his novels, and he characterized the proceedings in a way that always sticks with me. It’s a quick dash of wisdom, sure, but the writing itself is why I remember it. He’s recounting the villagers in full festive swing, attributing their joy to “days before the habit of taking long views had reduced emotions to a monotonous average.”
Wonderful. There’s so much there. Perhaps it’s lumpy sentimentality, but I think it’s richer than that, not something to be reduced. In simpler times, life was less sure. It’s a sad fact, but people on the whole lived more perilous lives. They couldn’t form certain “habits,” Hardy is saying; he’s essentially referring to planning ahead, mapping out the future.
He’s not all the way right here, and I don’t think he means to be. Just an open window to a time when up was a little higher and, God knows, down could be much lower. Notice the language. He uses “habit” and “long views” and “monotonous average.” Not exactly beating around the bush.
It makes sense to me on two levels. First, plans rarely come off. Okay, my plans rarely come off. Second, commercials about retirement have always hit me with the depression stick. To be clear, talk of the “long view,” as Hardy puts it, can be boring.
Now, is taking a long view wise? Of course. But that’s not what he’s saying in that paragraph on that page. It’s all about emotions and good times and having a terrible financial portfolio. What do expect from a writer? Live it up.
Cheers and see you after.
