40

40. This is commentary from James Brown.

I just turned 40. It’s strange to write this and stranger to say it.

But if you look at the gray hairs in my beard and head as closely as I do, let alone my knee pain, you’d believe it. 

And as I deal with this condition I’m drawn to the work of Alexis de Tocqueville, a Frenchman who walked American streets in the 1830s. He described the young American republic and our forefathers as "restless in the midst of abundance.”

In his book Democracy in America, he said "Americans are constantly driven to engage in commerce and industry.... This is the characteristic that most distinguishes the American people from all others.”

“Everybody works,” He continued, “The desire for prosperity has become an ardent passion... which they pursue for the emotions it excites as much as for the gain it procures."

The more things change. The more things stay the same. 

I’ve been wondering why 40 bugs me so much. And I think de Tocqueville said it well, I spend my days chasing gain, abundance and prosperity and both are important in a sense but are they worth it? Is this the stuff that a midlife crisis is made of? I figured I’d have more answers by now. 

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What do you think? And what do you chase? Oh and is this a midlife crisis?

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