Monday, March 29, 2010

My Henry

If I could have married any man from the past it would have been Henry David Thoreau.
I found him in college and have loved him ever since. If my Monster Baby had been a boy his name would have been Henry David. I kid you not.

Here's why I love Henry.

"To do what you feel is right, when the combined judgement of mankind seems against you, when all the world says no, that requires the ultimate in courageous self-confidence."

Which is how I can justify my writing to people who don't think I have any business writing. This has been with me since college, when other people thought my going to college wasn't worth it either. Lots of uphill battles but I got through...and if I can you can. Write on!

25 comments:

Christi Goddard said...

Which sums down to: "Be brave enough to be you, and f'ck the naysayers."

Hey, I gotta make things simpler. It's how I roll. That had big words like 'ultimate' 'self-confidence' and 'no.' Okay, 'no' isn't a big word, but it's one I ignore a lot. :-)

Summer Frey said...

Thoreau was brilliant. I've always found this inspirational, and another reason why I write:

"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."

Tara said...

Woot! Good morning to you, too, Anne :)

Sarah Ahiers said...

I've never read Henry David Thoreau... i hope that doesn't make me a bad person...

Anne Gallagher said...

Christi -- That's why I love you as much as I do -- you know how to roll.

Summer -- My sentiments exactly.

Tara -- WOOT!!!!

Sarah -- It doesn't make you a bad person at all, but you really need to read his essay on Civil Disobedience, it will change your life.
Absolutely.

Unknown said...

What a great quote! I was doubting myself a lot recently, as you know, and I found one by Ayn Rand that echoes Thoreau's words:

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swaps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not at all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists. It is real...It is possible...It's yours.

Hoo-rah!

Unspoken said...

Hmmm, now I am thinking on who I would marry, if I was the marrying again sort, which I am not :). But take me back to being young, and smarter, and with all men in history available. I love the fun you had with this! And the quote is great. How true it is and how much we need the courage.

Davin Malasarn said...

What a great post, Anne! I like Thoreau a lot too. This is a great quote by him, and I admire the courage you've shown!

Cynthia Reese said...

Thoreau is so great for a quote! He has a soundbite for every occasion.

But I think he might have been the teensiest hard to live with as an actual hubby! ;-)

Anonymous said...

It takes a lot of character to keep doing what everyone around says is a waste of time. But that makes the success of it that much sweeter. I'm totally looking forward to the "I told you so"-tongue-sticking-out moment when I've finally achieved my goals.

B. Miller said...

What a wonderful quote & sentiment. It's so great to find people like HDT, whispering to us from the past about how we should carry on, regardless of what people think.

Thanks for posting this.

Talli Roland said...

What a brilliant quote - love Thoreau! So inspirational - thanks for sharing!

Julie said...

Love this - thank you! I needed to hear it today.

Anne Gallagher said...

Nicole -- Oh that was brilliant as well. Maybe they knew each other in another life?

Amy -- Which is why I never married, all the good ones are gone.

Davin -- Thank you sir!

Cynthia -- As long as he had his own cabin in the woods and I had mine I think we would have done okay.

E.Elle -- I SO hear you on the tongue-sticking out!!!

B. Miller -- REGARDLESS of what people think!

Talli -- Brilliant!!!! You're welcome.

Julie -- I'm glad I could help.

Portia said...

Wow, that quote is perfect for writers! I think all of us have felt pressure from others periodically to give up. It's a testament to our need to write that we stick with it. Thanks for sharing this!

Anne Gallagher said...

Portia -- That's why I love Henry so much. His words fit like a glove.

Unknown said...

Most inspiring quote. Brings hope to the masses - err - me actually :)

Anne Gallagher said...

Wendy -- Me too!

sarahjayne smythe said...

With a quote as perfect as that, I can see why you would want to marry the man. :) You obviously have good taste.

Anne Gallagher said...

Sarah Jayne -- Thank you dearest. I so LOVE brilliant men. Unfortunately they're usually ugly. And more unfortunately, this one's dead.

Lola Sharp said...

I love him too, and that is an awesome quote. :o)

Speaking of husband-Henry's...Henry from A Time Traveler's Wife. He can be My Henry. (of course my real-life husband is gorgeous and smart and sweet...but, I still likes me some of My Henry, K?)

I'm on lots of NyQuill...hope I'm lucid.

Hannah said...

I've never read any.

Great quote though!

Susan Fields said...

Oh, I love that quote - very inspirational! Good thing to remember during the uphill battles. :)

dolorah said...

I'm totally stealing that quote for motivation for one of my characters. Wow, that was beautiful.

.......dhole

Anne Gallagher said...

Lola -- I hear you on the Henry. I just love that name.

Hannah -- Get you to a used bookstore and grab his essays. Fantastic stuff.

Susan -- It's all uphill from where I sit.

Donna -- Yeah, Henry's kind of inspirational that way.