“Most men die at 27, we just bury them at 72.” - Mark Twain
In Ants Marching, we find ourselves at the intersection of Life and Main and it’s here that Dave inherently asks a significant and profound question: What does it mean to be fully human? Throughout the song, generic snapshots of a person’s life are taken, such as one’s morning routine, commute, severed relationships and regrets, and the very purpose behind those everyday life experiences is questioned. What is the purpose behind the cycle of getting up, brushing your teeth, grabbing a bite to eat and rushing off to work 5 (or 6 or 7) days a week? Dave is not alone in his wondering.
Let’s be honest and confess that most of us unintentionally live a life of conformity and compliance. We didn’t necessarily choose it; it’s more like it chose us. Going to school, graduating, and entering the workforce seemed like the only path to follow, and yet after years of walking this path we’ve discovered that this journey is not all that life-giving. Where’s the joy? Where’s the significance? Where’s the sense of transcendence? What we find after traveling this path for any considerable length of time is that the path is very much life-taking, not life-giving, which helps us understand why Mark Twain quipped what he did.
The reality highlighted by Ants Marching is that as much as we want to live a different life, we find it incredibly hard to do so. It’s as if a resistance exists in each of our lives, one that influences our daily habits and routines, squelching our dreams and ambitions for the life we could have and desperately want, leaving us to long for “someday” but someday never comes. On the surface, this resistance appears to be external. For some, the resistance appears to be an overly-demanding job. For others, it appears to be an addiction. And for others, the resistance appears to be a past experience that just won’t release its claws.
So while upon first glance the resistance seems to be “out there” or “back then”, the truth is that the resistance is really within us, right here, right now. This internal resistance is what keeps us up at night or turns our stomach when entering a meeting. It’s what prevents us from leaving harmful and destructive habits and relationships and yet it's the same thing that makes us run away from those we love (and who love us). Essentially, the resistance is the thing that ties a leash around our necks to keep us from stepping outside the perceived lines of life. In Ants Marching, Dave sings pointedly about the various effects the resistance has on us, such as:
- driving us into a monotonous life of numbing and unfulfilling work
- allowing conflict to fester and isolate us from our most treasured relationships, and
- never fully realizing or even attempting to pursue our dreams and ambitions.
The truth is that the resistance is quite subtle but very powerful, and until we identify the resistance in our own lives, it will continue to have a stranglehold on the good life we are created to live. How would you describe the resistance in your life? What form has it taken and what effect has it had on you?
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