Lives of Quiet Desperation
Henry David Thoreau wrote: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." It is one of my favorite quotes and its underlying theme helped motivate me to look into weight loss surgery. While I certainly cannot pretend to speak for others here, I am reasonably certain that I am not alone in having reached a point in life where a person feels truly desperate to experience better physical health and greater self-acceptance.
I am now three years out from surgery and in better physical health than I ever dreamed of being after having been morbidly obese for more than two decades. My voice of unreason, that loud and nasty purveyor of viciously self-critical inner dialogue, is much quieter now. Changed cir****tances, a great deal of support, and some professional counseling have helped me to view myself in a more positive light. As much as I appreciate the current state of my physical health, though, it is relief from the desperate longing for self acceptance that I have come to value most on my WLS journey.
My purpose in making this post is to offer a message of hope to those of you out there who are still desperately seeking a path to better physical and mental health. You can find those things; but you have to work at it and that includes choosing to no longer lead a life of quiet desperation.
RP
