Quiet Desperation

Quiet Desperation

The writer and great thinker Thoreau wrote “most people lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

It all depends on what song you carry to the grave. In my twenties I was a professional singer and due to a massive stroke my singing career ended.

Because the speech center of my brain was almost destroyed it took years simply to be understood, let alone sing. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

I talked to myself mentally, and then I asked God to give me a new song! The new song turned out to be God Himself. We can all have a new song, but we have to fight for it. Remember, “it aint over till the fat lady sings.”

Image: publicdomainpictures.net

Related Articles

More From Prose

Steven Grabiner

Steven Grabiner finally made it to Israel. The savings bonds that he received at his Bar…
Steven Grabiner
Bad Egg

Bad Egg

When I was little I really loved living things in general and liked to keep them as pets. I had…
Bad Egg

Cruise Control

I am used to traveling pretty far distances for work but one thing I never really used while…
Cruise Control
Photograph: Barbara Gurien & Dad

Barbara Gurien

Barbara Gurien was working as an ultrasound technologist when she went on a date with a Jewish…
Barbara Gurien

Bob Quillen

It was 2:00 a.m. when Bob Quillen's phone rang. To his surprise, it was Ray Seigal. Bob had…
Bob Quillen
A Reason to Praise God

A Reason to Praise God

Why praise God? The same answer kept coming into my mind: praise God for the work that He has…
A Reason to Praise God

Attacking the Wrong Thing

One summer I was mowing the yard with my mom and at some point I heard her yell “run!” I…
Attacking the Wrong Thing

Havdalah

I’ve written in a previous article about Reuben Caplin (Ruby), my voice teacher and choral…
Havdalah

Burned but Beautiful

An EMT volunteer for United Hatzalah in Israel named Yoav Shemaryahu responded to a medical…
Burned but Beautiful

Doug Bachelor

Doug Batchelor might be the richest caveman to have ever lived. His mother was a Jewish actress…
Doug Bachelor

Rabbi Arthur Lelyveld

Rabbi Arthur Lelyveld came into my life in the early 1960’s. He was then the senior rabbi at…
Rabbi Arthur Lelyveld

Joshua Sink

From as early as Joshua Sink could remember he had a passion for flying. While children…
Joshua Sink
Clifford Goldstein

Clifford Goldstein

Clifford Goldstein will tell you that his family tree is full of typewriters, pens, and books.…
Clifford Goldstein
Cream Cheese vs Peanut Butter

Cream Cheese vs Peanut Butter

Since I was a kid I loved cream cheese. I also loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. My…
Cream Cheese vs Peanut Butter

False Assurance

It was rainy weather for days but since the rain itself wasn’t very heavy I felt I could stay…
False Assurance

Publish the Menu module to "offcanvas" position. Here you can publish other modules as well.
Learn More.


donation