Enthusiasm

My friend Mary Ellen and I talk a lot about writing and about the business of publishing. She has an academic background and has recently completed her second book. She founded her own publishing company, Atlantic Path Publishing, and, as with any small publisher, is putting a lot of effort, money, and energy into getting it up and running. She is supportive of my ideas about Parlez-Moi Press.

“What you have going for you,” she told me recently, “is your enthusiasm.”

I take that as a compliment, as she intended it, but that was not always the case. Back when I was young and being blasé was cool I hated it that I was so enthusiastic about things.

Ennui, boredom, artfully cultivated blasé skepticism is very popular among the young and among those who don’t want you to think that there is much in life to get excited about. It’s a soul-killer and I pity those who fall under its spell for very long. I’m a big fan of people who do a really good job of being artfully crabby - I appreciate that. But that affected ennui that always lets you know how boring and/or trivial everything is can rot the heart and mind.

The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek entheos which means “a god within”. Isn’t that a beautiful thought? Writer Marc Gafini said that the opposite of “holy” is “superficial”. We live in a superficial world where much is done merely for the sake of appearance without depth or commitment or passion. Nowhere is this more brutally apparent than in corporate America where the notions of commitment and loyalty - despite their super-abundance in “mission statements” - is increasingly lacking.

In fairness it should be noted that it is very hard to be enthusiastic about jobs and lives that are entirely at the mercy of fickle corporate whims that can end a way of life and plans for the future with the stroke os a pen. I worked at Enron - I know.

But maybe that should tell us something. Maybe we are at a point in time where we need to start a little revolution. Maybe it is time to decide we will not live lives that requires us to work without passion, live without enthusiasm, and exist without joy. This is a peculiar paradox because we treasure the free enterprise system of our capitalist culture where anyone with a dream can make it come true if they try hard enough and never give up. That is the beautiful side of capitalism. The ugly side is the endless consumption by a consumer market place that is required to support it. Stuff, we need more stuff - lots and lots of stuff and it needs to be highly disposable so it has to be replaced regularly so we can sell more stuff.

My sense is that corporations are becoming like dinosaurs - they are so huge and ponderous that they are getting to the point where they simply cannot consume enough to support themselves. Like the brontosaurus they eat and eat and eat all day long and still cannot nourish themselves enough to survive. So, in all the ruckus of that consumption, new little markets are falling by the wayside and those who have decided they’ve had enough of ostentatious display and conspicuous grandiosity can quietly back out and say “I think I can make a go of it without them.” And as you begin to reclaim your dream and work passionately toward your desires the little god comes back and reclaims its place inside you - entheos - and your enthusiasm bubbles up and fills your life with excitement.

Who needs a McMansion to live in when a god lives in your belly?

Thanks for reading.